Department for Transport

Blue Badge Scheme

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on guidance for local authorities to on the administration of the expanded Blue Badge scheme to people who have (a) hidden and (b) non-physical disabilities; and what the timeframe is for the introduction of that expanded scheme.

Michael Ellis: The guidance to help local authorities implement the expanded scheme is being finalised and will be issued shortly, and the scheme will become operational on 30 August.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) job creation, (b) support for the UK supply chain and (c) UK content are in the criteria for the provision of rolling stock in the award of rail franchises.

Andrew Jones: The Department sets out the criteria for the award of rail franchises in the competition Invitation to Tender documents which can be found on the Department’s website at gov.uk/dft. Rolling stock procurement is undertaken through fair and open competition, usually by train operators as part of their franchise commitments and operators may include procurement criteria that the Department is not party to. Through the Rail Sector Deal government is working with industry to promote procurement practices that support an innovative, highly-skilled, and productive British rail supply chain.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2019 to Question 239970 on Rolling Stock: Procurement, what guarantees the Government has received in addition of (a) commitments and (b) expectations from rail manufacturers on the building of new factories.

Andrew Jones: Rolling stock procurement is undertaken through fair and open competition, usually by train operators as part of their franchise commitments. As such the Department has received no guarantees in respect of the commitments or expectations from rail manufacturers on the building of new factories.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 9 April 2019 to Question 239967 and Question 239968 on High Speed 2 Railway Line: Rolling Stock, for what reason his Department did not adopt the provisions of most economically advantageous tender in relation to (a) quality, (b) cost-effectiveness and (c) life-cycle costs.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: As advised in the answers of 9 April 2019, the procurement of rolling stock for HS2 is conducted by HS2 Ltd in line with Utilities Contract Regulations 2016. In addition, I can confirm that the evaluation process does take into account technical quality, deliverability (including wider benefits) and overall whole life value.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's policy is on the offshoring of train manufacturing after a contract has been awarded.

Andrew Jones: The Government welcomes the investment in the UK through the awarding of rolling stock contracts to UK based manufacturers. Through the Rail Sector Deal government is working with industry to promote procurement practices that support an innovative, highly-skilled, and productive British rail supply chain. Rolling stock procurement is undertaken through fair and open competition, usually by train operators as part of their franchise commitments.

Blue Badge Scheme: Road Signs and Markings

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will encourage local authorities and other parking providers to use standard signage for Blue Badge holders.

Michael Ellis: The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 prescribe standard signs to indicate disabled badge holder parking spaces on public roads and these must be used by all local authorities in England. Parking providers responsible for car parks may use these signs but there are no plans to make them mandatory.

Birmingham Airport

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is Government policy to support the safeguarding of land in the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council area to allow for the possibility of a future second runway at Birmingham airport.

Michael Ellis: The Government’s final policy position on the safeguarding of land for potential future runways at airports will be set out in the Aviation Strategy White Paper, which is due for publication later this year. Until this time the Government’s position detailed within the Aviation Policy Framework of 2013 remains in place.

East Coast Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2019 to Question 257748, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of aligning the track and the operator of the East Coast franchise.

Andrew Jones: The East Coast Partnership is working to deliver reliable and high quality rail services for passengers, this includes considering options for how, in the future, the operation of track and train might be better aligned. This is being overseen by an independent board, which is due to report to the Secretary of State later this year. The Board is chaired by Tony Poulter, a non-executive Director at the Department for Transport, and has members from Network Rail, the intercity operator, London North Eastern Railway (LNER), the Department for Transport and independent members.

East Coast Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2019 to Question 257748, what proportion of rail services on the east coast mainline are operated by the East Coast franchise.

Andrew Jones: Although there are many operators that run services on the East Coast Mainline (ECML) between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle, London North Eastern Railway (LNER) are the only operator which runs passenger services across its full length and operate more train kms along the route.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has received all of the bids for the West Coast Partnership franchise competition; how many of those bids his Department has (a) evaluated and (b) scored; and whether he as invited the company with the the highest scoring bid from that process to discuss potential contractual terms.

Andrew Jones: The Department does not comment on live competitions. Please note that all bids received for any franchise competition are evaluated against the requirements and instructions set out in the relevant procurement documentation.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate has he made of the optimum number of bidders required for the West Coast Partnership franchise to provide value for money.

Andrew Jones: The maximum number of bidders that could be shortlisted for the West Coast Partnership was set out at the Expression of Interest stage of the competition. The maximum number of bidders that could be shortlisted was 4.

Railways: Franchises

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate has he made of the number of companies that hold pre-qualification passports to bid for rail franchises in the UK; and how many companies there are that are compliant bidders for the (a) West Coast Partnership and (b) Southeastern rail franchises.

Andrew Jones: There are eighteen Passport holders which are listed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/rail-franchising#rail-franchising-pqq-passport The shortlisted bidders for the West Coast Partnership and South-Eastern franchise competitions were announced on 22 June 2017. Details of the announcement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/west-coast-partnership-and-south-eastern-rail-franchise-bidders On the 10 April 2019, Stagecoach announced it had been disqualified from the West Coast Partnership and South Eastern competitions for submitting non-compliant bids.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the financial stability of the bidders for the West Coast Partnership rail franchise.

Andrew Jones: The Department does not comment on live competitions. Please note that all bids received for any franchise competition are evaluated against the requirements and instructions set out in the relevant procurement documentation.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of page 20 of the First Group financial results published on May 30 2019 which states in respect of railway pension liabilities that it is not possible at this stage to determine the impact to ongoing contribution requirements; and whether that company is compliant with his Department’s West Coast Partnership franchise provisions in respect of railway pension liabilities.

Andrew Jones: The Department does not comment on live competitions. Please note that all bids received for any franchise competition are evaluated against the requirements and instructions set out in the relevant procurement documentation.

Shipping: Registration

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) seafarer employment and (b) the maritime cluster in the UK of the UK Ship Register’s decisions to (i) expand its criteria for shipowner eligibility and (ii) introduce a system of bareboat charter-out.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The effect on seafarer employment of the UK Ship Register’s decisions to expand its criteria for shipowner eligibility could be positive and should provide employment opportunities for UK Nationals as more ships would be UK registered, likewise bareboat charter-out is regarding vessel ownership and does not have an adverse impact on seafarer employment opportunities. The effect on the maritime cluster in the UK of the UK Ship Register’s decisions to expand its criteria for shipowner eligibility could have a positive impact on maritime clusters within the UK as there is potential for more ships to visit the UK. There would also be an increase in revenue for the UK Flag which would be positive to UK PLC. For bareboat charter-out, there would be an impact in that the ship is suspended from the UK Flag and therefore revenue is impacted but only for the time that the vessel is chartered out. When the vessel returns to the UK Flag, revenue would increase as the vessel does not leave the UK Flag which has previously been the case.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what account his Department took of the financial performance of First Group on the (a) South Western Railway and (b) Transpennine railway when evaluating that company’s bid for the West Coast Partnership rail franchise.

Andrew Jones: The Department does not comment on live competitions. Please note that all bids received for any franchise competition are evaluated against the requirements and instructions set out in the relevant procurement documentation.

Shipping: Registration

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s resources of the UK Ship Register’s decisions to (a) expand its criteria for shipowner eligibility and (b) introduce a system of bareboat charter-out.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: There may be some impact on Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) resources of the UK Ship Register’s decision to expand its criteria for shipowner eligibility, but it would be manageable as slow growth is expected. There would not be any significant impact on MCA’s resources of the UK Ship Register’s decision to introduce a system of bareboat charter-out.

Shipping: Registration

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect on the number of vessels qualifying for the tonnage tax scheme in (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21 of the UK Ship Register’s decision to expand its criteria for shipowner eligibility; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: HMRC list a number of relevant commercial features in their guidance on whether ship operators can qualify for UK Tonnage Tax. Although the UK flag is one of these, it is not a necessary feature and is unlikely to have a critical effect on eligibility. Changes to the UK Ship Register were not made with eligibility for Tonnage Tax in mind.

Shipping: Registration

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has been made of the number of merchant vessels beneficially owned in (a) the UK and (b) outside the UK that will be moved to the UK Ship Register (UKSR) following the expansion of the UKSR’s criteria for shipowner eligibility.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Merchant vessels that are beneficially owned in the UK are already eligible to join the UK Flag, therefore there is no direct impact following the expansion of the UK Ship Register’s (UKSR’s) criteria for shipowner eligibility. Following the expansion of the UKSR’s criteria for ship ownership the potential Gross Tonnage (GT) that the UK can now market to in this wider market is in excess of 1 Billion GT.

Shipping: Registration

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which international shipping registers were used as a basis for the introduction of the UK Ship Register’s system of bareboat charter-out.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK’s bareboat charter-out process is based on processes that are already in place within its Red Ensign Group partners (Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar) and other international registers.

Shipping: Registration

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the proportion of merchant ship survey work that will be carried out by accredited Recognised Organisations on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency following the UK Ship Register’s decision to expand its criteria for shipowner eligibility.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The proportion of merchant ship survey work that will be carried out by accredited Recognised Organisations on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency following the UK Ship Register’s decision to expand its criteria for shipowner eligibility, may increase as the Flag grows but it is not expected to have any significant impact.

Shipping: Registration

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent comparative assessment he has made of the adequacy of the eligibility criteria used by the UK Ship Register and those used by open international shipping registers.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Open international registers do not have any nationality or residency requirements for ship registration and are open to foreign-owned ships, therefore no comparative assessment was undertaken. However, a comparison was undertaken against its Red Ensign Group Partners (Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar), for which the UK is already responsible internationally in terms of eligibility. Based on this assessment the UK Flag aligned its own criteria to the same position as them in terms of eligible countries whilst adding Commonwealth too.

Channel Ferries: Freight

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to procure additional roll-on roll-off ferry capacity at UK ports before 31 October 2019.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government is reviewing no deal contingency planning in light of the Article 50 extension and the ongoing review of planning assumptions. No decisions have yet been taken whether HMG will require additional capacity and a decision will depend on any revised planning assumptions, which are currently being considered.

South Eastern Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of any increases in track access charges for High Speed 1 on the financial viability of the (a) current and (b) future Southeastern rail franchise.

Andrew Jones: The Periodic Review process that will determine the new Track Access charges is ongoing and is the responsibility of the rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). No assessment has been made, however we do not expect High Speed 1 (HS1) to make changes that would impact the financial viability of the current or future Southeastern franchise. DfT continue to work closely with the ORR and the other stakeholders, including HS1 and Southeastern, throughout the Periodic Review process.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what due diligence his Department has undertaken on the shortlisted bidders for the West Coast Partnership rail franchise to ensure that (a) the board and (b) investors agree on that company’s willingness to take risk.

Andrew Jones: The Department does not comment on live competitions. Please note that all bids received for any franchise competition are evaluated against the requirements and instructions set out in the relevant procurement documentation.

RAF Northolt

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on flight paths into and out of RAF Northolt of a third runway at Heathrow.

Michael Ellis: The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) undertook initial fast time simulation work for the Airports Commission to assess the possible implications arising from the indicative airspace design for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. This work took account of the likely air traffic demands of airports across the South East, including RAF Northolt. Heathrow Airport’s airspace design proposals for the third runway are following the Civil Aviation Authority’s airspace change process. This is a thorough process requiring extensive consultation with communities and other stakeholders, including the military and airports that may be affected by the proposal. To date Heathrow Airport has held a public consultation on its design principles as well as second consultation on its proposed design envelopes. The airport is expected to launch its statutory consultation on flightpath design options in 2022.

Railways: Franchises

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is responsible for determining the terms of (a) rail franchise tenders and (b) rolling stock provision within rail franchise tenders.

Andrew Jones: The Department is responsible for determining the terms of the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for railway franchises pursuant to the functions of the Secretary of State for Transport under the Railways Act 1993 and the Railways Act 2005. It is a matter for franchise bidders to determine the provision of rolling stock to meet ITT requirements.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken on the manufacture of rolling stock being offshored following the publication on 26 April 2012 of its response to the Transport Select Committee report on Thameslink rolling stock procurement.

Andrew Jones: As stated in the Government’s response to the Transport Select Committee report on the Thameslink rolling stock procurement, bidders for Crossrail rolling stock were required to establish an appropriate local presence to manage the delivery of the contract and to specify from where each element of the contract will be sourced. The Crossrail contract was subsequently awarded to Bombardier Transportation based in Derby. The procurement of the new HS2 Phase One fleet is being undertaken by HS2 Ltd in accordance with the Utilities Contract Regulations 2016. The regulations require all tenderers be treated equally on a non-discriminatory basis. This means that HS2 cannot mandate that the design and manufacture of the new fleet should be undertaken in the UK. All parties invited to tender are required to make clear in their proposals how the manufacture and maintenance of the rolling stock will add value to the UK economy. The Government welcomes the investment in the UK through the awarding of rolling stock contracts to UK based manufacturers. Through the Rail Sector Deal government is working with industry to promote procurement practices that support an innovative, highly-skilled, and productive British rail supply chain.

Roads: Horse Riding

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including horse riders on the roads in any amendments to the Highway Code.

Michael Ellis: The current Highway Code already mentions horse riders and the need for drivers to exercise special care in relation to them. As part of the current Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) Safety Review, The Highway Code will be reviewed to help keep cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders safe on the roads. The full scope of review has yet to be determined but, in accordance with normal practice, it will be conducted in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, including those representing equestrians.

Motor Vehicles: Fuel Cells

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential environmental merits of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Michael Ellis: The Department for Transport published the outputs of the Transport Energy Model in July 2018 alongside the Road to Zero strategy. The model estimates the relative environmental performance of a range of fuel and powertrain options for cars, vans, buses and heavy goods vehicles over the period to 2050, including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Taxis: Wheelchairs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to increase the accessibility of private hire vehicles for wheelchair users.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government is committed to developing an inclusive transport system which disabled people can use easily, comfortably and without additional cost, and it is essential that taxi and private hire vehicle services play their part in making this happen. In 2017, the Government commenced legislation to prevent wheelchair users from being refused carriage or charged extra. We expect all local licensing authorities to use the powers available to them to ensure that the service for which they are responsible is accessible to all who need it. We plan to undertake research to understand the reasons why wheelchair users and assistance dog owners continue to be discriminated against by a minority of taxi and PHV drivers, and the tools available to eliminate such unacceptable behaviour.

Driverless Vehicles

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government has made of the potential economic benefits to the UK of the (a) manufacture and (b) use of autonomous vehicles.

Michael Ellis: The Government has conducted analysis to estimate the benefits of the production and sales of automated vehicles. Production of automated vehicles and associated technologies in the UK is estimated to represent a gross direct contribution of £6.9bn to UK Gross Value Added by 2035, supporting over 27,000 jobs, including thousands of new highly skilled jobs in the automotive sector. The Government will continue to assess the potential benefits of automated vehicles as the technology develops.

Aviation: Noise

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will update the Survey of Noise Attitudes 2017 report to incorporate the most recent WHO guidance on the lowest acceptable level of noise.

Michael Ellis: The World Health Organisation Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region, published in October 2018, use an evidence base on aviation noise from global studies similar to the Survey of Noise Attitudes (SoNA) 2014. SoNA 2014 was published in 2017 and was therefore not available to be considered by the WHO in its evidence review. My department forms part of the Interdepartmental Group on Costs and Benefits (Noise), which has been convened to review its current guidance and consider whether any updates are necessary. The Group will give careful consideration to the evidence base for the WHO Guidelines, as well as any other relevant recent research carried out in the UK and abroad. The department is also considering the need to commission a further Survey of Noise Attitudes to provide updated results.

Driving: Medical Examinations

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many D4 medical examination reports have been completed during (a) each of the five years prior to December 2014 and (b) each year since December 2014.

Michael Ellis: As not all applications need to be supported by a D4 medical examination report, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not hold the information requested. The table below shows the number of applications processed from applicants for entitlement to drive lorries and buses. However, examples of group 2 licence applications that do not include a D4 medical examination report, include but are not limited to, the renewal of a driving licence before the age of 45 and when adding an additional driving entitlement within 12 months of submitting a D4 (e.g. adding a bus provisional when holding HGV entitlement).YearGroup 2 licence applications2009245,4862010230,1292011244,4822012259,9662013256,2482014263,5352015282,7512016288,6542017289,2022018389,7412019 (until the end of May)175,221

Driving: Medical Examinations

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many D4 medical examination applications have been refused during (a) each of the five years prior to December 2014 and (b) each year since December 2014.

Michael Ellis: The table below shows the number of lorry or bus driving licence applications that have been refused or revoked for medical reasons over the last 10 years. However, not all these applications will have been supported by a D4 medical examination report.YearGroup 2 licence applications 2009Not held20104,58320115,53920126,12220137,46420147,49420158,095201610,665201711,213201812,2422019 (until the end of May)4,639

Driving: Medical Examinations

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many DVLA centres are licensed to complete D4 medical examination reports.

Michael Ellis: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not license centres or doctors to complete D4 medical examination reports. The D4 medical examination and report must be conducted by a qualified medical practitioner who is registered with the General Medical Council and licensed to practice in the UK, or registered within the EU (if the form is completed outside the UK). The examining practitioner must carry out the examination in accordance with requirements outlined in DVLA guidance.

Railway Stations: North of England

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2019 to Question 259184, how many railway stations have been (a) opened and (b) closed in the north of England since 2010.

Andrew Jones: Six railway stations have been opened in the north of England since 2010:  2018: Maghull North 2017:Low Moor2016:Kirkstall Forge2015:Apperley Bridge2014:James Cook University Hospital2011: Buckshaw Parkway  Since 2010, no railway stations have closed in the north of England.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Disclosure of Information

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2019 to Question 909885 on the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, what progress his Department has made in planning for the assessment of the recent reforms to the legislative framework of protection for workers.

Kelly Tolhurst: It is right and proper that Government reviews the whistleblowing framework, however we believe that it would be premature to conduct a review at this time. Instead we should allow the existing changes that we have introduced to embed and build the necessary evidence of their impact to support a review in due course.

Metals

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the security of supply of rare earth metals required by industry.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the Chinese authorities on rare earth metals imports into the UK.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) reliability of supply of (i) dysprosium and (ii) neodymium for the manufacture of (A) wind turbines and (B) electric vehicles.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the security of supply of (a) the rare earths neodymium and dysprosium and (b) tellurium.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department has not made any formal assessment of the security of supply of rare earth elements. However, neodymium and dysprosium are included on the EU’s list of critical raw materials, because of their high economic importance and high supply risk. Tellurium is not on that list, but the Government is aware of its scarcity and importance to manufacturing of alloys and some electronic equipment. We enjoy strong relationships with a huge range of companies and business representatives and through those conversations we have not been made aware of any specific concerns regarding the supply of these materials. I can also confirm that I have not held specific conversations with any country regarding rare earth elements. However, the UK Government’s long-held approach to ensuring sufficient supply of materials is through lobbying for free, fair and open global markets. As my rt. hon Friend the Prime Minister has stated, we want to ensure that we promote the greatest possible trade with the world. Through our day-to-day contacts with industry, we will continue to monitor the situation.

Smoke and Chimney Gases

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2019 to Question 257639 on Smoke and Chimney Gases: Heating, to what date as soon as possible refers.

Chris Skidmore: Interested parties have now been informed of the decision.

Environment Protection: Employment

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what roles the Government defines as green collar jobs; and what the criteria are for defining a job as green collar.

Chris Skidmore: The official sources of data for capturing jobs that support clean growth are the ONS’s Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Survey and the ONS’s Environmental Goods and Services Sector dataset. This is publicly available information at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/bulletins/finalestimates/2017; and https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/datasets/ukenvironmentalgoodsandservicessectoregssestimates.

Environment Protection: Employment

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many green collar jobs in the UK are (a) full-time, (b) part-time, (c) minimum wage, (d) in the public sector and (e) in the private sector.

Chris Skidmore: The official sources of data for capturing jobs that support clean growth are the ONS’s Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Survey and the ONS’s Environmental Goods and Services Sector dataset. These sources measure employment in terms of ‘full time equivalents’ only. According to the latest statistics from the ONS’s Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Survey there are almost 400,000 jobs in low carbon businesses and their supply chains across the country. By placing clean growth at the heart of our modern Industrial Strategy, we are determined to maximise the economic opportunities from the transition to clean growth. We are working closely with the ONS to improve the detail and scope of these datasets.

Post Office Card Account

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Post Office card accounts were (a) active and (b) opened in each of the last five years.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The number of Post Office card accounts active or opened in each of the last five years are operational matters for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Alisdair Cameron, the Group interim Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the Hon. Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Health: Research

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the amount UK Research and Innovation has spent on research into (a) physical health conditions and (b) mental health conditions in each of the last 5 years.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether UK Research and Innovation has plans to increase the proportion of funding allocated to research into mental illness in the next financial year.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how UK Research and Innovation considers the disease burden of individual conditions when commissioning funding for individual health research projects.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the cost to UK Research and Innovation of research on the prevention of (a) mental and (b) physical ill health in each of the last five years.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 10 June 2019



We are increasing spending on R&D by £7 billion over 5 years by 2021-22. This will be the largest increase ever. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a partner organisation of BEIS, funds research relating to health. Funding decisions are based on the quality of the proposals, with researcher-led proposals welcomed into any aspect of human health, with the primary considerations being research excellence and importance to health. Within UKRI, the Medical Research Council (MRC) is the primary, but not exclusive, funder of medical research. Over the last five years, MRC has provided the following health funding:MRC Health Research (HRCS)2013/14 (£)2014/15 (£)2015/16 (£)2016/17 (£)2017/18 (£)All Health Categories617,605,780625,128,039723,428,975599,790,930585,079,573Of which Mental Health30,240,64531,222,39930,585,32828,557,92239,879,007Of which Neurological79,901,44479,832,753109,809,89480,286,62674,631,328All Prevention Research26,587,23824,479,41722,348,09424,157,94930,297,781Of which Mental Health815,707587,725453,152391,856415,533Of which Neurological17,00622,81225,04733,03736,383 Please note this does not represent the MRC’s entire research spend as some investments, such as infrastructure and underpinning research are not included in the analysis.  Research relating to mental health is funded by all UKRI councils. As well as UKRI, other government bodies fund health research, such as the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The UK Clinical Research Collaboration undertakes UK Health Research Analysis. An analysis of data for 2018 is expected to the published in summer 2019. The most recent report (in 2014) included data from seven of UKRI’s nine councils as well as other government departments and charitable organisations. The report and data are available at https://hrcsonline.net/reports/analysis-reports/ Further related initiatives include: In May 2019, the UK Prevention Research Partnership (an alliance of 12 major funders of health research, including four UKRI councils, health and social care departments across the four UK nations and charities) invested over £25 million into addressing challenges regarding non-communicable disease and poor mental health and wellbeing. Further information can be found at https://mrc.ukri.org/news/browse/25-million-funding-awarded-to-leading-disease-prevention-projects/ UKRI Mental Health Networks support prevention alongside targeted mental health care On 5 December 2018, the government announced up to £79 million of Industrial Strategy funding for a new programme of research that will harness the power of artificial intelligence and big data to dramatically change the way major diseases are detected, diagnosed and treated. The funding, which forms part of the government’s Life Sciences Sector Deal 2, will support the establishment of a landmark cohort of up to five million people to take part in research aimed at revolutionising early detection and diagnosis of a range of diseases, including Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The programme will bring together the NHS, industry and leading charities including Alzheimer’s Research UK, Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation.

Waste Heat Recovery

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy if he will publish all the (a) evidence and (b) assessments provided by the (i) Building Research Establishment and (ii) Standard Assessment Procedure Scientific Integrity Group on that group's investigation into the efficiency of flue gas heat recovery systems.

Chris Skidmore: The Department does not intend to publish such information as it is of a commercially sensitive nature. Manufacturers may discuss the representation of their own products in the Product Characteristics Database directly with the Building Research Establishment. Details of the investigation of recent review carried out by the Standard Assessment Procedure Scientific Integrity Group concerning a particular entry for a Flue Gas Heat Recovery System have been shared with the parties involved, with appropriate redactions for personal data.

Carbon Emissions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the implications are for his policies of the February 2019 Committee on Climate Change advice that carrying forward surplus from the UK’s second carbon budget (a) would allow emissions to increase when they should be falling and (b) would not be consistent with the aims of the Paris climate agreement; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Skidmore: The UK has a world-leading record in tackling climate change. We are rightly proud of our performance against our carbon targets, having overperformed for the second time, leading us to cut our emissions faster than any G7 country. We remain firmly committed to tackling the threat of climate change and to meeting our future carbon targets through the ambitious plans and policies set out in the Clean Growth Strategy. The decision to reserve part of the second carbon budget is a technical one which does not impact the Government’s commitment to taking strong domestic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change. The Government has deposited letters in the Libraries of the House confirming its decision.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made on (a) finalising the Smart Export Guarantee and (b) providing support for community energy as referred to in the consultation on that guarantee.

Chris Skidmore: On 10 June we launched the Smart Export Guarantee, which will ensure that small-scale low-carbon generators are paid for the power they export to the grid. The SEG provides space for innovative market solutions to come forward, and supports the uptake of flexible technologies such as batteries - reinforcing our smart energy agenda. BEIS also supports communities through the Rural Community Energy Fund. This re-opened at the end of May to support communities seeking to develop a wide range of low carbon activities. The £10m fund provides grants to communities for feasibility studies to scope out ideas, and where projects are viable, another grant to help develop the project to investment readiness. Eligible community projects will be able to benefit from the SEG, however we recognise that it may be more suitable for some projects than others. We are continuing to consider what measures we could take to support the efforts of communities that wish to invest in low-carbon community energy.

Labour Market

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timetable is for the public consultation on proposals for a single labour market enforcement body.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government is committed to creating a labour market that works for everyone. Through the Good Work Plan - the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation - we set out a number of measures to improve state enforcement of core employment rights. In addition to introducing state enforcement of holiday pay for vulnerable workers, we also committed to expand agency worker protections to cover umbrella companies. In light of this expansion of the State’s role, we will consider the case for a single labour market enforcement body, which would bring together the relevant enforcement functions of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, HMRC’s National Minimum Wage team and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. Proposals will be published in due coursefor public consultation.

Company Liquidations

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many companies have gone into liquidation in each of the last five years.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Insolvency Service publishes quarterly statistics containing the number of new company liquidations in England and Wales; Scotland; and Northern Ireland. This is broken down into compulsory liquidations and creditors’ voluntary liquidations. The most recent statistics, covering the period January to March 2019, were published on 30 April 2019 on gov.uk.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans does the Government have for the (a) future and (b) funding of the renewable heat initiative.

Chris Skidmore: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Redundancy: Pregnancy

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timeframe is for the publication of the Government’s response to the public consultation on extending redundancy protection for pregnant women and new parents.

Kelly Tolhurst: The consultation closed on 5th April 2019. We are currently analysing responses and will set out next steps in due course.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Sudan: Politics and Government

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Sudan on recent trends in the level of violence in that country; and what recent discussions he has had with his Sudanese counterparts to help the development of democracy in that country.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK condemns the recent violence in Sudan which resulted in the killing and injuring of many peaceful civilian protestors. We made this clear in the E8 statement issued following the Sudan briefing at the UN Security Council and alongside Troika partners (US, Norway and UK) in our statement of 4 June. The following day I summoned the Sudanese Ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to set out the grave concerns of the United Kingdom at the use of violence by the Sudanese authorities against civilians this week.We have stressed to the Sudanese authorities the need for an agreed transfer of power to a civilian-led government, followed by a process of reform leading to eventual free and fair elections, as demanded by the people of Sudan. The UK has consistently called for a transition to a political system that is inclusive, supported by a sound constitutional basis that is respectful of human rights and the rule of law and that ensures accountability for crimes committed. Our Ambassador to Khartoum has met with the Transitional Military Council , opposition members and protestors and continues to deliver these messages.

Syria: Chemical Weapons

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether an assessment has been made of the implications for the 12 March 2019 statement by the UK delegation to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that the UK welcomes FFM’s extremely thorough & well-evidenced report on the incident in Douma of the exclusion from that report of an engineering assessment by members of the Fact Finding Mission team.

Sir Alan Duncan: UK stands by its assessment Syrian regime was responsible for the chemical weapon attack in Douma and by 12 March statement welcoming the Fact Finding Mission's report which drew a clear conclusion of reasonable grounds to believe that a toxic chemical, likely molecular chlorine, was used as a weapon on 7 April 2018. On 28 May the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Director General confirmed all evidence and views were considered in preparing the Fact Finding Mission (FFM) report. Technical Secretariat stands by the findings and we continue to have confidence in both our own and the FFM's conclusions.

Gaza: Travel Restrictions

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the human rights implications of travel permit restrictions between Israel and (a) Gaza and (b) all other areas in the Occupied Palestinian Territories which result in parents being separated from their children while their children are in medical care.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the matter of medical permits with the Israeli authorities. Israeli restrictions severely restrict the movement of medical professionals, patients and families from Gaza, hampering the provision of quality health services, as well as impacting Palestinians in the West Bank. The situation in Gaza is particularly acute, and is compounded by frequent closure by Egypt of the Rafah crossing, preventing urgent medical cases from seeking treatment in Egypt. We are clear that Israel's occupation of Gaza is not sustainable. That is why we need a lasting peace agreement which ensures that all those who are in need of medical attention and their families have unimpeded access to healthcare provisions.

Palestinians: Schools

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of reports that prefabricated classrooms in the Occupied Palestinian Territories funded by EU aid have been removed and are to be sold at auction by the Israeli authorities.

Dr Andrew Murrison: ​The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah have written to the Israeli authorities, calling on them to 'return the confiscated items to their intended beneficiaries without precondition as soon as possible; otherwise to provide compensation without delay for the dismantled and confiscated assets'. Alongside other EU member states, the UK continues to raise these issues with the Government of Israel.

Sudan: Demonstrations

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take following the reported killing of peaceful protesters and the use of violence by Sudanese security and military services under the orders of the Transitional Military Council on 3 June 2019 in Khartoum; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: ​As we made clear alongside Troika partners (US and Norway) on 4 June, we condemn the violent attacks by Sudanese security forces against peaceful protestors in Sudan this week, which left many civilians dead or injured. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this in his statement on 6 June, which also called for the full restoration of the internet and freedom of the media. The UK has called for the human rights of all Sudanese people to be respected and for the resumption of the political process with the protestors and the opposition, and an agreed transfer of power to a civilian-led government, as demanded by the Sudanese people, in a swift, orderly and peaceful manner. On 6 June, I summoned the Sudanese Ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to express the grave concerns of the United Kingdom at the use of violence against civilians by the Sudanese authorities.

Sudan: Violence

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take with the US Administration and the Government of Norway to help tackle recent violence in Khartoum.

Harriett Baldwin: ​The UK, alongside Troika partners Norway and the USA made clear on 4 June that we condemn the violent attacks by Sudanese security forces against peaceful protestors in Sudan last week, which left many civilians dead or injured. The UK calls for the human rights of all Sudanese people to be respected, the resumption of the political process with the protestors and the opposition, and an agreed transfer of power to a civilian-led government, as demanded by the Sudanese people, in a swift, orderly and peaceful manner.The UK also continues to promote comprehensive peace negotiations through our role in the Troika. Alongside the US and Norway we engage regularly with the African Union (AU) building on long standing support to the AU's mediation efforts to encourage peace and security in Sudan.

Attorney General

Sexual Offences: Disclosure of Information

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Attorney General, whether the Sub-Group to the Criminal Justice Board and Review of the Criminal Justice Response to Rape and Serious Sexual Offences plans to make an assessment of the (a) effectiveness and (b) effect on survivors of rape of the legal guidance issued by the CPS on rape and sexual offence in relation to disclosure of medical records and counselling notes.

Lucy Frazer: The Crown Prosecution Service is working with the police, government departments and third sector stakeholders on the Government’s review into how the criminal justice system responds to rape and serious sexual offences. The Crown Prosecution Service is committed to working with all involved in the Review, including stakeholders, to identify and address any issues that are identified.Complainants are entitled to protection from unnecessary and unjustified invasion of their private lives. CPS guidance is clear that where it is a reasonable line of enquiry in the investigation, the police should obtain complainants’ informed consent to gain access to medical records and counselling notes. Prosecutors will robustly apply the relevant statutory provisions when deciding whether such material should be disclosed to the defence.

Department of Health and Social Care

Prescription Drugs

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions of (a) individual benzodiazepine drugs and (b) individual antidepressants were dispensed in the community in 2018.

Seema Kennedy: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 11 June 2019.The correct answer should have been:

Information on the number of prescription items from the Prescription Cost Analysis system for benzodiazepines and antidepressants written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community in England, for the year 2018 can be found in the attached tables.The data available is at prescription item level by presentation. Prescriptions are prescribed either by a paper prescription form or via an Electronic Prescription Service message. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item. No information is available for those prescriptions written but not dispensed.



Prescription data benzodiazipines & antidepressant
(Word Document, 23.62 KB)

Seema Kennedy: Information on the number of prescription items from the Prescription Cost Analysis system for benzodiazepines and antidepressants written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community in England, for the year 2018 can be found in the attached tables.The data available is at prescription item level by presentation. Prescriptions are prescribed either by a paper prescription form or via an Electronic Prescription Service message. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item. No information is available for those prescriptions written but not dispensed.



Prescription data benzodiazipines & antidepressant
(Word Document, 23.62 KB)

Occupational Health

Craig Tracey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department's Green Paper on  Prevention is better than cure will include the role of (a) employers in supporting good health and (b) use of health insurance by employers to support the health of their staff.

Seema Kennedy: We are considering a number of policy options for the Prevention Green Paper and will be mindful of the role of employers in supporting their employees’ health.

Healthy Start Scheme

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department has made available to promote the Healthy Start Voucher Scheme to (a) eligible recipients and (b) retailers; and if will he make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Funding allocated to the Healthy Start scheme is accounted through a single cost centre together with the Nursery Milk scheme. A split by individual scheme is therefore not available. In 2017-18 funding for these schemes was £104,709,791. Audited spend data for the 2018-19 financial year is not yet available.This includes funding for the Healthy Start website which costs approximately £12,000 per year and which, together with the Start4Life website, promotes the Healthy Start scheme to the public and retailers. Retailers, local authorities and healthcare professionals such as midwives and health visitors are encouraged to use the relevant promotional material available on the Healthy Start website. The Healthy Start Issuing Unit is also proactive in identifying and contacting families who may be eligible.

Acrylamide: Health Hazards

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the threat of cancer from acrylamide in (a) food and (b) tobacco smoke.

Seema Kennedy: Since the mid-2000s, when acrylamide was first highlighted as a food safety concern, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has worked with industry and European counterparts to mitigate the risks of acrylamide to consumers. It has developed a Code of Practice for food businesses; provided local authorities with guidance to ensure business compliance; and worked with catering establishments to reduce acrylamide formation during food preparation.The FSA continues to take an active role in European Union/United Kingdom negotiations to develop a process for setting regulatory limits for acrylamide in certain products such as those intended for infants and young children.The EU does not include acrylamide in its list of priority additives contained in cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco that are subject to enhanced reporting obligations under the EU Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU).The best way to reduce the risk from tobacco smoke is to reduce smoking. The UK is a world leader in tobacco control, with a comprehensive programme to reduce smoking prevalence, including fiscal measures, a ban on all forms of advertising and promotion, smoke free mass media campaigns, action to tackle illegal tobacco and evidence-based support for smokers to quit.In recent years, adult smoking prevalence has been declining at an accelerated rate and the government is working with partners across the healthcare system towards the achievement of a smoke free generation.

Blood: Contamination

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there is a Barnett consequential to the existing Northern Ireland infected blood payment scheme.

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the letter dated 30 April 2019 from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health, Inequalities and Suicide Prevention to Sir Brian Langstaff, Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry, and the reference in that letter to providing greater parity of support across the United Kingdom, what recent discussions his Department has held with the Department of Health for Northern Ireland.

Jackie Doyle-Price: As stated in the letter sent to the Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry on 30 April 2019, the Government is committed to working with its counterparts in the devolved administrations to look at the issue of parity of support across the United Kingdom. I have written to Richard Pengelly, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health in Northern Ireland and other counterparts in the other devolved nations inviting them to meet to discuss this issue, and a date is currently being sought for this meeting to take place.The recently announced £30 million uplift in payments in England will be coming from existing 2019/20 Department of Health and Social Care’s non-National Health Service budget and is not a new allocation from HM Treasury. There is therefore no Barnett consequential arising from this for the existing Northern Ireland scheme.

Ophthalmology: Waiting Lists

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are on the waiting list for appointments for (a) diabetic retinopathy and (b) glaucoma in each NHS hospital.

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with (a) Type 1 and (b) Type 2 diabetes are on the waiting list for podiatry appointments in each NHS (i) hospital and (ii) clinic.

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with (a) Type 1 and (b) Type 2 diabetes are on the waiting list for an appointment for (a) neuropathy and (b) cardiovascular conditions in each NHS (i) hospital and (ii) clinic.

Seema Kennedy: This information is not held centrally.

Ophthalmology: Vacancies

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many vacancies are there in the NHS for (a) ophthalmic clinicians and (b) ophthalmic nurse specialists in each NHS hospital.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Improvement collects vacancy data for three staff groups; doctors, nurses and ‘other staff’. These vacancy statistics are published for England and at the regional level of North, Midlands and East, London and South.It does not specifically produce vacancy data for ophthalmic clinicians or ophthalmic nurse specialists or any vacancy data for each National Health Service hospital.NHS Digital published the latest NHS Improvement vacancy data which can be found in the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey/february-2015---march-2019-provisional-experimental-statistics

Diabetes: Health Professions

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many vacancies are there for (a) diabetologists and (b) specialist diabetes nurses in each NHS (i) hospital and (ii) clinic.

Seema Kennedy: NHS Improvement publishes vacancy data for three staff groups; doctors, nurses and ‘other staff’. These vacancy statistics are published for England and at the regional level of North, Midlands and East, London and South.They do not specifically produce vacancy data for diabetologists or specialist diabetes Nurses or any vacancy data for each National Health Service hospital or clinic.NHS Digital published the latest NHS Improvement vacancy data which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey/february-2015---march-2019-provisional-experimental-statistics

Ophthalmology: Waiting Lists

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average length of waiting time was between appointments for people with (a) retinopathy and (b) glaucoma in each NHS (i) hospital and (ii) clinic in each year since 2010.

Seema Kennedy: The data is not collected centrally.

Diabetes: Health Services

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average length of time was between appointments for people with (a) Type 1 and (b) Type 2 diabetes in each NHS (i) hospital and (ii) clinic in each year since 2010.

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time between appointments was for people with (a) Type 1 and (b) Type 2 diabetes who have (i) neuropathy and (ii) other cardiovascular conditions in each NHS (A) hospital and (B) clinic in each year since 2010.

Seema Kennedy: This information is not held centrally.

Diabetes: Orthopaedics

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) digit and (b) limb amputations have been undertaken for people with (i) Type 1 and (b) Type 2 diabetes in each NHS (A) hospital and (B) clinic since 2010.

Seema Kennedy: Information on the count of finished consultant episodes with a primary diagnosis of diabetes, broken down by type and a main procedure of amputations of limbs and digits and hospital provider between the financial years 2010-11 and 2017-18, is attached.



Diabetes and amputations data 2010-18
(Excel SpreadSheet, 61.69 KB)

Postnatal Care

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will add the six-week maternal postnatal check to the GP contract.

Seema Kennedy: An agreement on whether additional items will be included in the 2020/21 general practitioner (GP) contract – such as the inclusion of a specific universal maternal six-week postnatal check – will be made following negotiations between NHS England and the GP profession later this year. No decisions have been made on which issues are to be included in the negotiating remit.Post-natal care can be delivered by a number of different providers, including midwives, health visitors and GPs. Currently, commissioners and providers should ensure that women are offered a review of their physical, emotional and social wellbeing by a healthcare professional at the end of the postnatal period (between 6-8 weeks). National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on postnatal care stipulate that a documented, individualised postnatal care plan should be developed with the woman ideally in the antenatal period or as soon as possible after birth.The NHS Long Term Plan highlights that we will continue to work with midwives, mothers and their families to implement continuity of carer so that, by March 2021, most women receive continuity of person caring for them during pregnancy, birth and postnatally.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase access to the Freestyle Libre monitoring device for diabetes patients.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure equitable access to the Freestyle Libre monitoring device for diabetes patients on the NHS.

Seema Kennedy: Glucose monitoring technology, such as flash glucose monitors like Freestyle Libre will continue to be available to those meeting the relevant clinical criteria.The NHS Long Term Plan announced that the National Health Service will ensure that, in line with clinical guidelines, eligible patients with type 1 diabetes benefit from life changing flash glucose monitors from April 2019, ending the variation patients in some parts of the country are facing.NHS England has published detailed criteria and supporting guidance at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/flash-glucose-monitoring-national-arrangements-funding-v1.1.pdf Clinical commissioning groups (CCGS) will be reimbursed for the cost of flash glucose monitoring sensors for those who meet these criteria, which could amount to up to 20% of their type 1 diabetes populations. CCGs can also locally choose to fund flash glucose monitoring for other patients with diabetes. The guidance advises that as part of their annual review process, patients with diabetes should be assessed for suitability for flash glucose monitoring. This process can also form part of a review for a different purpose, if that occurs earlier. This will promote a systematic approach to increasing take up.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what NHS England’s procurement policy is for tumour profiling tests to guide adjuvant chemotherapy decisions in early stage breast cancer.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the Library information on the number of people (a) offered and (b) tested with tumour profiling tests to guide adjuvant chemotherapy decisions for early breast cancer in each Care Commissioning Group area in England for the last year for which data is available.

Seema Kennedy: NHS England does not procure tumour profiling tests directly. The National Genomic Test Directory identifies the testing that should be available in the National Health Service and delivered through the Genomic Laboratory infrastructure. Decisions about the specific platforms used to deliver the testing are determined locally.NHS England does not centrally hold information for the number of people offered and tested with tumour profiling tests to guide adjuvant chemotherapy decisions for early breast cancer in each clinical commissioning group area in England.

Breast Cancer

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the Library information on the number of people that have been diagnosed with early breast cancer in each Care Commissioning Group in England in the last year for which data is available.

Seema Kennedy: A table showing the number of people diagnosed with early breast cancer (stages one and two), and the total people diagnosed with breast cancer, in 2017 in each clinical commissioning group is attached. Data are available from the following link:http://www.ncin.org.uk/publications/survival_by_stage



Breast cancer diagnoses by CCG 2017
(Word Document, 32.46 KB)

Audiology

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the recommendation of Action on Hearing Loss in its report on valuing audiology that clinical commissioning groups should be required to collect uniform data in the audiology departments they commission.

Caroline Dinenage: Responsibility for audiology data collection rests with individual National Health Service trusts. NHS England’s commissioning framework does however include recommended key performance indicators that can support clinical commissioning groups to incorporate quality management in their contracts. For audiology services this includes recommendations that 90% of service users referred to the service should be assessed within 16 working days of receipt of a referral, and that 90% of service users requiring a hearing aid fitting should be seen within 20 working days of the assessment.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timescale is for the planned methods and processes review of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who will lead the planned methods and processes review of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what opportunities (a) patient groups, (b) parliamentarians and (c) other stakeholders will have to influence the (i) scope, (ii) methodology and (iii) leadership of the planned methods and processes review of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to enable the involvement of patient groups in the methods and processes review of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Seema Kennedy: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for the methods and processes used in the development of its technology appraisal and highly specialised technology recommendations. NICE has now initiated the review of its technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies methods in line with the commitment made in the 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access. The Voluntary Scheme states that industry and other relevant stakeholders will be active participants in the review, including inputting on scope, participating in working discussions, and providing views on recommendations. NICE’s updated methods guide will be subject to a public consultation. NICE has established a working group consisting of members from NICE, NHS England, the Department, patient organisations and the life sciences industry. The working group reports to a steering group, chaired by NICE and with members from NHS England, the Department, and an independent academic methodologist. The steering group will present its recommendations to NICE’s senior management team, which in turn will report to the NICE Board. NICE is in the process of scoping of the review of the methods for technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies evaluations, with input from the working group and steering group. The scope of the review - a list of the aspects of NICE’s current methods that will be considered in the review - will be presented to the NICE Board in July. Additional detail and more information will be made available on the NICE website in due course. NICE anticipate being in a position to confirm the revised methods guide by the end of 2020, following public consultation.

NHS 111

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on ensuring that NHS 111 commences direct booking into GP practices throughout the country and refers on to community pharmacies; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, an Implementation Framework will be published shortly which will set out the next steps the National Health Service will take to deliver the commitments and the national activity and support available to systems. The Implementation Framework will assist local health systems, who will build on the engagement already taking place across the country, in developing their strategic Long Term Plan implementation plan over the summer. NHS England and Improvement will then publish a national implementation plan in the autumn.The NHS Long Term Plan commits to joining up the NHS urgent care system. NHS 111 direct booking into general practitioner practices will be introduced nationally in 2019.

General Practitioners

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on undetaking a fundamental review of GP (a) vaccinations and immunisation standards, (b) funding, and (c) procurement; and if he will make a statement.

Seema Kennedy: As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, an Implementation Framework will be published shortly which will set out the next steps the National Health Service will take to deliver the commitments and the national activity and support available to local health systems. This Framework will assist local health systems, who will build on the engagement already taking place across the country, in developing their strategic Long Term Plan implementation plans over the summer. NHS England and NHS Improvement will then publish a national implementation plan in the autumn.As agreed in the 2019/20 General Practice contract, NHS England is leading a review of general practitioner vaccinations and immunisations standards, funding and procurement, which commenced in April 2019. An advisory group has been established to oversee the work; this includes representation from the British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners, Public Health England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, the Royal College of Nursing and patients.

NHS 111

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on embedding a single multidisciplinary Clinical Assessment Service within integrated (a) NHS 111, (b) ambulance dispatch and (c) GP out of hours services; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, an Implementation Framework will be published shortly which will set out the next steps the National Health Service will take to deliver the commitments and the national activity and support available to systems. The Implementation Framework will assist local health systems, who will build on the engagement already taking place across the country, in developing their strategic Long Term Plan implementation plan over the summer. NHS England and Improvement will then publish a national implementation plan in the autumn.The Clinical Assessment Service (CAS) as described in the Integrated Urgent Care Service Specification includes clinicians working within different organisations and in particular includes NHS 111, ambulance and general practitioner out of hours services. A CAS can be a virtual model where clinicians are based in different locations but work collectively to answer calls from patients and health care professionals via the NHS 111 telephone number.The target to achieve 100% CAS coverage across England was reached at the end of March 2019.Different areas will have achieved different levels of maturity in the implementation of their CAS and the exact make up of their CAS will differ depending on the interaction between different organisations and the NHS 111 call handler.

Hospital Beds

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on establishing and maintaining an average Delayed Transfer of Care figure of 4,000 or fewer delays; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, an Implementation Framework will be published shortly which will set out the next steps the National Health Service will take to deliver the commitments and the national activity and support available to systems. The Implementation Framework will assist local health systems, who will build on the engagement already taking place across the country, in developing their strategic Long Term Plan implementation plan over the summer. NHS England and NHS Improvement will then publish a national implementation plan in the autumn.In March 2019 there were, on average, 4,478 people experiencing a delayed discharge each day - a reduction of 2,182 fewer people delayed every day in comparison to February 2017 (baseline position of 6,660 average daily delays). This represents a consistent and sustained reduction over a two-year period.During 2018/19, there were 313,000 (an average of 860 per day) fewer cases of people experiencing a delayed transfer of care in comparison with 2017/18 - a reduction of almost 16%.The Long Term Plan ambition states “over the next two years is to achieve and maintain an average delayed transfer of care figure of 4,000 or fewer delays, and over the next five years to reduce them further”.A cross-agency delayed transfer of care reduction plan is in place to coordinate improvement activity and address areas of challenged performance.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on embedding the Same Day Emergency Care model in (a) medical and (b) surgical specialities in each NHS hospital during 2019-20; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, an Implementation Framework will be published shortly which will set out the next steps the National Health Service will take to deliver the commitments and the national activity and support available to systems. The Implementation Framework will assist local health systems, who will build on the engagement already taking place across the country, in developing their strategic Long Term Plan implementation plan over the summer. NHS England and Improvement will then publish a national implementation plan in the autumn.The Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) Hospitals Programme team conducted a review in December and January 2019 on the progress that Hospitals had made with implementing SDEC services where they had a Type 1 emergency department.In February 2019, across England 92% of trusts had a SDEC service, 71% were open every day, 65% of those that had a service were open 12 hours a day when they were open.

Urgent Treatment Centres

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made against the commitment to ensure England is covered by a 24/7 Integrated Urgent Care Service, accessible via NHS 111 or online; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: As set out in the Long Term Plan an Implementation Framework will be published shortly which will set out the next steps the National Health Service will take to deliver the commitments and the national activity and support available to systems. The Implementation Framework will assist local health systems, who will build on the engagement already taking place across the country, in developing their strategic Long Term Plan implementation plan over the summer. NHS England and Improvement will then publish a national implementation plan in the autumn.NHS England introduced the Integrated Urgent Care (IUC) service specification in August 2017. The service specification detailed what an integrated urgent care system could look like for commissioning purposes.NHS England has worked through regional colleagues, as well as directly with commissioners and providers to ensure the IUC service specification is implemented via local procurement and contract variations. NHS England also holds regular meetings and events to share best practice and respond to questions around IUC.

Integrated Care Systems

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on ensuring that a new Integrated Care Provider contract is made available for use from 2019, following public and provider consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, an Implementation Framework will be published shortly which will set out the next steps the National Health Service will take to deliver the commitments and the national activity and support available to systems. The Implementation Framework will assist local health systems, who will build on the engagement already taking place across the country, in developing their strategic Long Term Plan implementation plans over the summer. NHS England and Improvement will then publish a national implementation plan in the autumn.The Integrated Care Provider (ICP) Contract is a contractual option for local areas wishing to integrate care. Where a clinical commissioning group proposes to use the ICP Contract, proposals will be subject to successful completion of the Integrated Support and Assurance Process before the ICP Contract is awarded.NHS England has completed a full public consultation on the ICP Contract and committed through the Long Term Plan that the ICP Contract will be made available for use in 2019. NHS England’s full response to the consultation was published on 15 March 2019.The feedback from the consultation is being used to further develop the ICP Contract, which will be made available in its updated form as an option for use in local health and care systems in due course.

Hospitals: Food

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on ensuring that the next version of hospital food standards is published in 2019, strengthening those requirements and pushing further in securing healthy food for staff and patients; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The NHS Food Standards are currently being review and updated to specifically look at improving the food provided in healthcare settings for patient, visitors and staff. This work is being led by the Food Standards and Strategy Group which includes representation from organisations with an interest in this area, including National Health Service trusts, NHS England and NHS Improvement, the Hospital Caterers Association, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Public Health England and commercial food suppliers. The groups work is divided into workstreams as follows: - Patient experience;- Patient hydration, nutrition and safety;- Procurement, sustainability and food waste;- Visitor, staff and retail; and- Communications. The Standards will be published later this year.

Maternity Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on publishing an expansion to the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle with a focus on prevention of pre-term births; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Version two of the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle was published by NHS England and NHS Improvement in March 2019. This version aims to provide detailed information for providers and commissioners of maternity care on how to reduce perinatal mortality across England. The second version of the care bundle brings together five elements of care that are widely recognised as evidence-based and/or best practice. Four of the elements are those covered by version one of the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle; the new fifth element is reducing pre-term birth.

Cancer and Rare Diseases: Genetics

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on offering whole genome sequencing to (a) seriously ill children who are likely to have a rare genetic disorder, (b) children with cancer and (c) adults suffering from certain rare conditions or specific cancers; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government is committed to making the United Kingdom a leader genomic healthcare; the new NHS Genomic Medicine Service and the Long Term Plan commitments on genomics are central to achieving this. Building on the 100,000 Genomes Project and existing genetic services, NHS England announced in October 2018 that over the next 18 months work to mobilise the NHS Genomic Medicine Service would get underway.The NHS Long Term Plan included a commitment to introduce whole genome sequencing as part of routine clinical care and to sequence 500,000 whole genomes by 2023/24. NHS England is working with the NHS and Genomics England to support the implementation of whole genome sequencing during 2019 for seriously ill children who are likely to have a rare genetic disorder, children with cancer, and adults suffering from certain rare conditions or specific cancers.

NHS Trusts: Capital Investment

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether an assessment has been made of the effect on NHS trusts of their limitations on capital spending compared with the different limitations on NHS foundation trusts.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of continuing controls on capital spending by his Department on maintenance in hospitals.

Stephen Hammond: National Health Service provider organisations invest in excess of £3 billion of capital annually and are responsible for keeping their estate and infrastructure safe, by prioritising their available capital and revenue budgets accordingly. The Department is working with NHS England and NHS Improvement so that Trusts have the ability to spend to keep their estate safe.Data from the annual Estates Return Information Collection (ERIC) suggests level of backlog in the NHS estate has increased across recent years. To support providers maintain existing estates and invest in new facilities, the Government announced £3.9 billion of additional capital funding in the 2017 Spring and Autumn Budgets, and the Government has been clear that it will consider proposals from the NHS to support transformation of the estate as part of the forthcoming Spending Review.Both NHS trusts and foundation trusts receive income on the same basis, and where additional capital investment funding is provided centrally there are no differences between access to, or assessment processes, for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts. Although NHS trusts are subject to some additional layers of governance in respect of capital investment when compared to NHS foundation trusts, these are not intended to impose limitations on their capital spending, rather to provide the balance between trusts’ freedom to manage their own capital investments with an assurance process for the approval of capital investment plans in the context of the wider financial sustainability of the bodies.

Integrated Care Systems

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to allocate funds to integrated care systems for increases in market rent.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress NHS Property Services has made in resolving complex billing disputes as a result of the move to market rents.

Stephen Hammond: The market rent increases on NHS Property Services’ buildings have been permanently funded through clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations, which are expected to be partners in integrated care systems.CCG are expected to distribute the additional market rent funding to occupiers of NHS Property Services properties through, for example, health services contracts or rent reimbursement, where applicable. Where there are funding disputes there are matters for local commissioners and providers to agree.Where there are billing disputes, NHS Property Services works with occupiers and commissioners as necessary to ensure the basis of charging is accurate and is fully understood and agreed by each party.The most complex disputes involving National Health Service occupiers are reviewed by the Department and if necessary escalated to an independent arbitration panel to determine.

Wigs: Standards

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce minimum standards for wigs required by people.

Stephen Hammond: Wig suppliers under contract to the National Health Service through the NHS Supply Chain framework must be a member of the Hairdressing and Beauty Suppliers Association (HBSA) and subscribe to the HBSA Wigs Suppliers Code of Practice 2018 which covers the expected quality and standards of service.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the full key data on young people's access to mental health services, as requested by the Public Accounts Committee in their report into mental health services for children and young people, published on 11 January 2019.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Public Accounts Committee report, Mental health services for children and young people, published on 11 January 2019, what steps his Department plans to take to assess whether parity of esteem for children and young people's mental health services has been achieved.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Public Accounts Committee report, Mental health services for children and young people, published on 11 January 2019, if his Department will publish information on what happens to young people with mental health issues who do not receive any or timely treatment.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government’s response to the Committee’s report was published in April 2019. In it, the Government accepted the recommendation to provide annual updates to the Committee on various aspects of data relating to young people’s access to mental health services, until April 2022. These will include more reliable statistics as new measures are developed and published. The Government’s response also provided the latest available information, as far as it is collected and available, as well as showing where this information is routinely published. Information on outcomes for young people with mental health issues who do not receive any or timely treatment is not collected centrally. Progress on achieving parity of esteem for children and young people’s mental health services is monitored against key measurables such as access and waiting times standards. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out how it intends to improve services that support children and young people including those who require mental health services. It commits to growing investment in mental health services faster than the overall NHS budget. Further, funding for children and young people’s mental health services will grow faster than both overall National Health Service funding and total mental health spending. The National Implementation Framework, when published, will provide further information on how the commitments set out for children and young people’s mental health in the Plan will be implemented.

NHS: Internet

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS spent on the NHS app before NHSX announced plans to scale back development of that App on 31 May 2019.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The NHS App is not being scaled back. The NHS App will remain the ‘digital front door to the NHS’ as set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.

NHSX: Operating Costs

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on setting up and running NHSX to date.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The set up and running of NHSX has incurred additional costs of £94,516.20 to date. £79,200 of the costs relate to software licensing for NHSX staff. The remainder relates to a set up event and small elements of additional administrative purchases.

NHSX: Recruitment

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff have been (a) transferred from his Department or other public bodies to NHSX and (b) recruited externally.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHSX is a joint Unit between the Department and NHS England. No staff have been transferred as NHSX is not a separate body. Two staff have been transferred from another Government Department. NHSX will recruit a Chief Technology Officer and other roles; at present, no staff have been recruited externally.

Glaucoma: Health Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,  if he will publish a response to Early Day Motion 2173, on World Glaucoma Week and access to effective treatments.

Seema Kennedy: The Government is committed to further reducing avoidable sight loss and ensuring that patients have access to timely treatment and support in line with clinical need and best available evidence. Latest data from the Public Health Outcome indicator, which is tracking rates of sight loss due to age related macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, shows that sight loss due to these conditions has dropped slightly. The latest statistics can be found on the GOV.UK website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public-health-outcomes-framework-may-2019-data-update NHS England is taking forward initiatives to help ensure that patients have access to high quality and timely eye care services. This includes NHS England’s EyesWise, a collaboration with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists which aims to support the development and local implementation of new ways of delivering ophthalmology outpatient services to best meet the growing demands on Hospital Eye Service Departments. This work focuses on supporting the needs of glaucoma patients and those at risk of glaucoma.It builds on actions undertaken by all hospital eye services and clinical commissioning groups in England to deliver the Elective Care Transformation Programme’s High Impact Intervention for Ophthalmology, improving the timely assessment and follow-up of the people at highest risk of sight loss.Further information is available on the NHS England website at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/elective-care-transformation/best-practice-solutions/eyeswise/

Mumps

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the increase in mumps cases in the last five years.

Seema Kennedy: An increase in mumps activity was observed in England in the first quarter (Q1) of 2019 with 795 laboratory confirmed mumps infections. Cases were reported in all regions of England, predominantly in young adults aged 15 to 34 years (703/795, 88%). Almost half (352/795, 44%) of the cases in Q1 were in unvaccinated individuals. Whilst this is triple the total number of infections (247 cases) confirmed in England in Q1 of 2018, increases in mumps cases have been observed in previous years. In Q1 of 2013, a total of 980 cases were confirmed.Further information is available to view at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/804024/hpr1819_mmr2.pdfAlthough mumps can occur in fully vaccinated individuals, due to secondary vaccine failure, it is less likely to lead to complications requiring hospitalisation. While the mumps component of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is highly effective at protecting young children, immunity can wane over time. Therefore, older teenagers and adults who received two doses of MMR in childhood can still get mumps although this is generally mild compared to those who are unvaccinated.

Health Professions: Flexible Working

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help promote flexible working for (a) doctors and (b) nurses in the NHS.

Stephen Hammond: The Department is helping to promote flexible working for doctors and nurses through the interim NHS People Plan which outlines the new offer for staff and sets out what support will be offered to National Health Service staff including flexible working. The interim NHS People Plan will be developed over the summer with publication of the final version expected after the spending review later this year.The Government also made a manifesto commitment to “…strengthen the entitlement for NHS employees to flexible working to help those with caring responsibilities for young children or older relatives.” This includes the improvement in the use of technology to help trusts with e-rostering and e-job planning to optimise the use of their permanent and temporary workforces.The Junior Doctor’s contract agreement provides for £1,000 less than full time trainee allowance to recognise additional costs such trainees face.NHS Improvement continues to promote flexible working for staff including doctors and nurses through its NHS Staff Retention Collaborative. This initiative initially focussed on nurses and clinicians working in mental health but has now been extended to all staff groups1.Flexible working for all staff including doctors and nurses is promoted through the NHS Constitution which states that staff have the right “to fair treatment regarding leave, rights and flexible working” and also states that “employers…must consider flexible working requests by employees with at least 26 weeks continuous service”.2The Department is currently working closely with NHS Improvement to roll out smarter staff banks. As well as reducing reliance on expensive recruitment agencies, staff banks provide a further opportunity for flexible working in the NHS. Effective staff banks can give staff the freedom to manage their own time, using simple, user-friendly technologies to pick up shifts when they want them, get paid quickly, and have control over their pension contributions. Furthermore, where several banks are joined together into collaborative banks, trusts can dramatically increase the size of the flexible workforce they can reach and increase the opportunities for those working flexibly to choose the shifts that fit in with their lives.Notes:1 https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/improving-staff-retention/2 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/770675/The_Handbook_to_the_NHS_Constitution_-_2019.pdf

Doctors: Mental Health Services

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve mental health support for NHS doctors.

Stephen Hammond: Improving the mental health of our National Health Service staff including doctors is a top priority. Last year, NHS England announced the expansion of the Practitioner Health Programme, a free and confidential NHS service to treat doctors’ mental health or addiction problems, in particular where these might affect their work.The Department also continues to discuss doctors’ contractual terms and conditions of service with the British Medical Association and employers to ensure they are up to date, fit for purpose helping protect their mental health and wellbeing through negotiated improvements.As set out in the interim NHS People Plan, like all NHS staff, doctors should benefit from NHS work over the summer to “develop a new offer with staff setting out explicitly the support they can expect from the NHS as a modern employer” including ensuring everyone feels they have voice, control and influence, which covers staff mental health and wellbeing. This will be published after the Spending Review and could include implementation of recommendations from Health Education England’s NHS Staff and Learner Mental Wellbeing Programme report such as introducing Well Being Guardians in NHS trusts, personal wellbeing supervisors for learners including doctors in training, NHS organisations independently examining the death by suicide of any member of NHS staff or learner working in the NHS and “safe spaces” accessible to all for reflection, learning and breaks.The new offer will build on the progress being made in implementing the NHS staff health and wellbeing framework which provides organisations with diagnostic and intervention options to help them provide the mental health services their staff need such as counselling and talking therapies. The Framework and NHS Improvement’s s staff health and wellbeing collaborative of 73 trusts embed the mental health standards set out in ‘Thriving at Work – a review of mental health and employers’ commissioned by the Government. Implementing ‘Thriving at Work’ is a requirement under the NHS Standard contract.NHS England’s 2017/19 Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) Incentive scheme has been encouraging trusts to improve the services they provide to help staff mental health with payments for improvement in the percentage of staff answering “no” to the NHS Staff Survey question “During the last 12 months have you felt unwell as a result of work related stress?”

Food: Packaging

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with industry on the use of packaging on junk food designed to appeal to children.

Seema Kennedy: Officials from the Department have regular discussions with representatives from the food and drink industry on improving the health and wellbeing of children and families.

Mental Health Services: Veterans

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to the (a) the Veterans' Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service and (b) the NHS Veterans' Mental Health Complex Treatment Service in (i) the UK, (ii) South Yorkshire and (iii) Barnsley in each year since 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The following table shows the NHS England expenditure for veterans’ mental health services in each year since 2016/17 across England and in the North of England.Not all of the information requested is collected centrally, information is only available from 2016/17.  2016/172017/182018/192019/20England£5,825,034£6,142,910£7,204,404£10,281,912Of which North of England£458,300£806,000£1,933,000£2,708,000

Wales Office

Radio Frequencies: Research

Mr Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what start-up funding the Government has allocated to new National Spectrum Centre in Aberystwyth to (a) enable UK wireless technology innovation and (b) create highly skilled job opportunities in Wales.

Alun Cairns: The UK Government has put research and innovation at the heart of its Industrial Strategy, setting an ambition for the UK to become the most innovative country in the world and increase its total R&D expenditure to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.The new National Spectrum Centre in Aberystwyth will be a part of this ecosystem of innovation across the UK and will have opportunities to access funds dedicated to supporting research in areas that are vital to our future economy. I visited Aberystwyth in September to discuss this project with key stakeholders and was hugely impressed with its ambitions.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Billing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department holds a copy of Electrical Services Project Management Ltd invoices to (a) Bright Tribe Trust and (b) Adventure Learning Academies Trust for Conditional Improvement Fund works in line with draw-downs from the Education Funding Agency.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions officials from (a) his Department and (b) the Education and Skills Funding Agency have had with the Director of Electrical Services and project Management Ltd on the (i) content and (ii) veracity of the invoices from that company to (A) Bright Tribe Trust and (B) Adventure Learning Academies Trust for Conditional Improvement Fund works in line with draw-downs from the Education Funding Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether an official from the Education and Skills Funding Agency was present during inspections of works funded by the Conditional Improvement Funds on (a) LED lighting and (b) heating  at (i) Whitehaven Academy and (ii) Fowey River Academy; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Education and Skills Funding Agency and the Trusts have completed their initial review work to establish the facts surrounding existing concerns about Bright Tribe and Adventure Learning Academy Trusts, including those aired in the BBC Panorama programme of 10 September 2018. The results of the investigations are sensitive and cannot be shared at this time.The Condition Improvement Funded works at The Whitehaven Academy and Fowey River Academy were undertaken by independent, externally appointed consultants. An official from the Department for Education was present at the technical inspection which took place at Fowey River Academy on 23 August 2018, but was not present at the Whitehaven Academy technical inspection, which took place on 17, 18 July and 30 August. However, officials had previously visited the academy on a number of occasions.Our current policy is that reports into such reviews are published and we will do so once due process has been completed.

Academies

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academies do not have a sponsor.

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academies without a sponsor have a budget deficit.

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academies do not have a sponsor because they have a budget deficit.

Nadhim Zahawi: ​As at 1 June 2019 there are 8,678 open academies and free schools. 2,631 of these do not have a sponsor. The majority of these are converter academies where there is no requirement for a sponsor. There is also a small number who were formerly sponsored but no longer have a sponsor. There are 161 local authority maintained schools in the process of becoming a sponsored academy. Of these 161 schools, 83 (52%) have no sponsor assigned to them; some of these, will be early in the conversion process. Schools can draw on their reserves for a range of planned and sensible reasons. This is not an issue in and of itself, unless it is symptomatic of a trend towards a cumulative deficit. Cumulative deficit and surplus positions are a more reliable overall measure of financial health. In-year spending often presents an inconsistent picture. Of the 2,631 academies without a sponsor, 1,243 are recorded as having expenditure that exceeded income in 2017/18. This can often be planned expenditure using reserves strategically. There were 182 with a cumulative deficit. If the sums are significant, the trust may, as appropriate, be subject to scrutiny or intervention by ESFA. Of the 83 local authority maintained schools in the process of becoming a sponsored academy, 50 had expenditure that exceeded income, while 28 had a cumulative deficit. When a local authority maintained school with a deficit becomes a sponsored academy, the deficit remains with the local authority, in line with our published guidance. Likewise, when an academy with a deficit is in scope to transfer to a new trust, any deficit at the academy at the point of transfer would ordinarily remain with the outgoing trust in line with our published guidance.

Home Education

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether (a) weekday evenings, (b) Saturdays and (c) Sundays are classified as normal school hours for the purposes of the Government's consultation entitled Children not in school: proposed legislation, launched on 2 April 2019.

Anne Milton: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Home Education

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether (a) morning prayer meetings, (b) afternoon bible studies and (c) evening youth group meetings are included in the scope of education settings for the purposes of the Government's consultation entitled Children not in school: proposed legislation, launched on 2 April 2019.

Anne Milton: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Pupils: Attendance

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether (a) museums, (b) art galleries, (c) sports clubs, (d) National Trust and English Heritage properties, (e) leisure centres and (f) Parliament are included in the scope of education settings for the purposes of the Government's consultation entitled Children not in school: proposed legislation, launched on 2 April 2019.

Anne Milton: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Post-18 Education and Funding Review

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the post-18 education sector in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland on the proposals set out in the post-18 education and funding review.

Chris Skidmore: Higher and further education are devolved matters and as such the review is considering the English system only. We recognise the direct impact the review may have on Devolved Administrations and are engaging with the relevant devolved governments as appropriate. The Government will consider the independent panel’s recommendations carefully and will conclude the review at the Spending Review.

Bright Tribe Multi-academy Trust

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what reports Bright Tribe Trust has submitted to his Department since 1 July 2018.

Nadhim Zahawi: Bright Tribe Trust has submitted site inspection reports for Alde Valley Academy, Castle Hill Primary School, Colchester Academy, The Whitehaven Academy and Werneth Primary School since 1 July 2018.

Universities: Suicide

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has published on suicide prevention strategies for universities.

Chris Skidmore: Mental health is a priority for the government, which is why we have worked with Universities UK, the Office for Students, and other stakeholders in the higher education sector to develop guidance on measures to help prevent suicide. This guidance was published in September 2018, ahead of the 2018/19 academic year, and can be found here: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Pages/guidance-for-universities-on-preventing-student-suicides.aspx.In addition, the government has published the first cross-government suicide prevention plan for wider society. The plan, led by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, sets out actions for local government, the NHS, the criminal justice system and the Department for Education in relation to universities. The plan focuses on how social media and the latest technology, such as predictive analytics and artificial intelligence, can identify those at risk of suicide. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-ever-cross-government-suicide-prevention-plan-published.

Universities: Pay

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to encourage pay restraint among university vice chancellors.

Chris Skidmore: Universities are autonomous institutions and they are responsible for setting the pay of their staff, including vice-chancellors. However, students and taxpayers all contribute to our higher education system and rightly expect value for money. We want to see senior staff pay in universities that is fair and justifiable. The process for setting pay must be transparent.The Office for Students (OfS) requires universities to publish full details in their financial statements of the total remuneration package of their vice chancellor, including bonuses, pension contributions, and other taxable benefits. Universities must also publish a justification for this remuneration package, and the pay multiple of the vice chancellor's remuneration compared with that of all other employees.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s February 2019 strategic guidance letter to the OfS reiterated that ‘high pay must be justified by high performance’. It further stated that ‘Where issues with senior staff pay lead to concerns over governance, the OfS should consider carrying out independent reviews of the adequacy and effectiveness of management and governance at providers and to require improvements, where necessary, to ensure that these arrangements are fit for purpose’.

Students: Fees and Charges

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will bring forward plans to reduce university tuition fees to £7,500.

Chris Skidmore: The independent panel’s report to government forms an important step in the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding. The government will consider the panel’s recommendations carefully and will conclude the review at the Spending Review. The government has not yet taken decisions with regards to the recommendations put forward.

Schools: Asbestos

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to publish information on the responses to the asbestos management assurance process at responsible body and school level.

Nick Gibb: The Department takes the safety of pupils, staff and visitors to schools very seriously. To improve our understanding of the management of asbestos in schools, the Department launched the Asbestos Management Assurance Process (AMAP) in March 2018. This will enable the Department to develop an even better understanding of how asbestos is being managed in schools, strengthen the Department’s published guidance and support the Department’s work with the Health and Safety Executive to follow up with any schools of concern.The Department intends to publish the report on the findings of the AMAP this month. The Department also intends to publish the names of the participating Responsible Bodies, schools and academies.

Emslie Morgan Academy: Closures

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Regional Schools Commissioner for Yorkshire and Lancashire on the closure of Emslie Morgan Academy.

Nadhim Zahawi: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not met with the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) for Lancashire and West Yorkshire in relation to the closure of Emslie Morgan Academy. My noble friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, has however discussed the closure of Emslie Morgan Academy with the RSC and officials. The decision to close Emslie Morgan Academy was taken by the department, following the careful consideration of all available options.

Ministry of Justice

Joseph McCann

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the decision was taken to release Joseph McCann.

Robert Buckland: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 17 May 2019.The correct answer should have been:

In accordance with the sentence of the Court, Joseph McCann was released on 15 February 2019, after he had completed half (less time spent on remand) of a three-year determinate sentence for burglary imposed on 25 January 2018. On release, he was supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) When charged with that offence and remanded into custody on 21 August 2017, he was being supervised on licence by the NPS as part of the sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which he received on 26 September 2008. An offender on an IPP licence is not recalled automatically when he is charged with a further offence or offences. The probation officer will consider whether the alleged further offences, prior offending and the offender’s current behaviour show that his risk has escalated to the point where he needs to be recalled to protect the public. The decision on whether to recall an offender is to be based on a robust assessment of risk and to reflect the professional judgment of a trained probation officer. The NPS has undertaken an urgent review to establish why Mr McCann was not recalled to custody, either when remanded into custody on 21 August 2017 or when he was sentenced on 25 January 2018 15 February 2018. Mr McCann has now been charged with a number of very serious offences committed on or after 21 April this year. This has triggered a mandatory serious further offence (SFO) review, under the Probation SFO Review Procedures. The SFO review will consider in greater depth than has thus far been possible, including by interviewing relevant members of staff, the question of whether Mr McCann should have been recalled to custody when charged with and subsequently convicted of the burglary offence. Typically, an SFO review is completed within three months of an offender being charged with an SFO.

Robert Buckland: In accordance with the sentence of the Court, Joseph McCann was released on 15 February 2019, after he had completed half (less time spent on remand) of a three-year determinate sentence for burglary imposed on 25 January 2018. On release, he was supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) When charged with that offence and remanded into custody on 21 August 2017, he was being supervised on licence by the NPS as part of the sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which he received on 26 September 2008. An offender on an IPP licence is not recalled automatically when he is charged with a further offence or offences. The probation officer will consider whether the alleged further offences, prior offending and the offender’s current behaviour show that his risk has escalated to the point where he needs to be recalled to protect the public. The decision on whether to recall an offender is to be based on a robust assessment of risk and to reflect the professional judgment of a trained probation officer. The NPS has undertaken an urgent review to establish why Mr McCann was not recalled to custody, either when remanded into custody on 21 August 2017 or when he was sentenced on 25 January 2018 15 February 2018. Mr McCann has now been charged with a number of very serious offences committed on or after 21 April this year. This has triggered a mandatory serious further offence (SFO) review, under the Probation SFO Review Procedures. The SFO review will consider in greater depth than has thus far been possible, including by interviewing relevant members of staff, the question of whether Mr McCann should have been recalled to custody when charged with and subsequently convicted of the burglary offence. Typically, an SFO review is completed within three months of an offender being charged with an SFO.

Joseph McCann

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who took the decision not to refer the question of Joseph McCann's release to the Parole Board.

Robert Buckland: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 17 May 2019.The correct answer should have been:

In accordance with the sentence of the Court, Joseph McCann was released on 15 February 2019, after he had completed half (less time spent on remand) of a three-year determinate sentence for burglary imposed on 25 January 2018. On release, he was supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) When charged with that offence and remanded into custody on 21 August 2017, he was being supervised on licence by the NPS as part of the sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which he received on 26 September 2008. An offender on an IPP licence is not recalled automatically when he is charged with a further offence or offences. The probation officer will consider whether the alleged further offences, prior offending and the offender’s current behaviour show that his risk has escalated to the point where he needs to be recalled to protect the public. The decision on whether to recall an offender is to be based on a robust assessment of risk and to reflect the professional judgment of a trained probation officer. The NPS has undertaken an urgent review to establish why Mr McCann was not recalled to custody, either when remanded into custody on 21 August 2017 or when he was sentenced on 25 January 2018 15 February 2018. Mr McCann has now been charged with a number of very serious offences committed on or after 21 April this year. This has triggered a mandatory serious further offence (SFO) review, under the Probation SFO Review Procedures. The SFO review will consider in greater depth than has thus far been possible, including by interviewing relevant members of staff, the question of whether Mr McCann should have been recalled to custody when charged with and subsequently convicted of the burglary offence. Typically, an SFO review is completed within three months of an offender being charged with an SFO.

Robert Buckland: In accordance with the sentence of the Court, Joseph McCann was released on 15 February 2019, after he had completed half (less time spent on remand) of a three-year determinate sentence for burglary imposed on 25 January 2018. On release, he was supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) When charged with that offence and remanded into custody on 21 August 2017, he was being supervised on licence by the NPS as part of the sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which he received on 26 September 2008. An offender on an IPP licence is not recalled automatically when he is charged with a further offence or offences. The probation officer will consider whether the alleged further offences, prior offending and the offender’s current behaviour show that his risk has escalated to the point where he needs to be recalled to protect the public. The decision on whether to recall an offender is to be based on a robust assessment of risk and to reflect the professional judgment of a trained probation officer. The NPS has undertaken an urgent review to establish why Mr McCann was not recalled to custody, either when remanded into custody on 21 August 2017 or when he was sentenced on 25 January 2018 15 February 2018. Mr McCann has now been charged with a number of very serious offences committed on or after 21 April this year. This has triggered a mandatory serious further offence (SFO) review, under the Probation SFO Review Procedures. The SFO review will consider in greater depth than has thus far been possible, including by interviewing relevant members of staff, the question of whether Mr McCann should have been recalled to custody when charged with and subsequently convicted of the burglary offence. Typically, an SFO review is completed within three months of an offender being charged with an SFO.

Joseph McCann

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) scope, (b) timescale and (c) remit is of the urgent review into the reported mistaken release of Joseph McCann.

Robert Buckland: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 17 May 2019.The correct answer should have been:

In accordance with the sentence of the Court, Joseph McCann was released on 15 February 2019, after he had completed half (less time spent on remand) of a three-year determinate sentence for burglary imposed on 25 January 2018. On release, he was supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) When charged with that offence and remanded into custody on 21 August 2017, he was being supervised on licence by the NPS as part of the sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which he received on 26 September 2008. An offender on an IPP licence is not recalled automatically when he is charged with a further offence or offences. The probation officer will consider whether the alleged further offences, prior offending and the offender’s current behaviour show that his risk has escalated to the point where he needs to be recalled to protect the public. The decision on whether to recall an offender is to be based on a robust assessment of risk and to reflect the professional judgment of a trained probation officer. The NPS has undertaken an urgent review to establish why Mr McCann was not recalled to custody, either when remanded into custody on 21 August 2017 or when he was sentenced on 25 Jarnuary 2018 15 February 2018. Mr McCann has now been charged with a number of very serious offences committed on or after 21 April this year. This has triggered a mandatory serious further offence (SFO) review, under the Probation SFO Review Procedures. The SFO review will consider in greater depth than has thus far been possible, including by interviewing relevant members of staff, the question of whether Mr McCann should have been recalled to custody when charged with and subsequently convicted of the burglary offence. Typically, an SFO review is completed within three months of an offender being charged with an SFO.

Robert Buckland: In accordance with the sentence of the Court, Joseph McCann was released on 15 February 2019, after he had completed half (less time spent on remand) of a three-year determinate sentence for burglary imposed on 25 January 2018. On release, he was supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) When charged with that offence and remanded into custody on 21 August 2017, he was being supervised on licence by the NPS as part of the sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which he received on 26 September 2008. An offender on an IPP licence is not recalled automatically when he is charged with a further offence or offences. The probation officer will consider whether the alleged further offences, prior offending and the offender’s current behaviour show that his risk has escalated to the point where he needs to be recalled to protect the public. The decision on whether to recall an offender is to be based on a robust assessment of risk and to reflect the professional judgment of a trained probation officer. The NPS has undertaken an urgent review to establish why Mr McCann was not recalled to custody, either when remanded into custody on 21 August 2017 or when he was sentenced on 25 Jarnuary 2018 15 February 2018. Mr McCann has now been charged with a number of very serious offences committed on or after 21 April this year. This has triggered a mandatory serious further offence (SFO) review, under the Probation SFO Review Procedures. The SFO review will consider in greater depth than has thus far been possible, including by interviewing relevant members of staff, the question of whether Mr McCann should have been recalled to custody when charged with and subsequently convicted of the burglary offence. Typically, an SFO review is completed within three months of an offender being charged with an SFO.

Joseph McCann

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date was his Department informed of the release from prison of Joseph McCann.

Robert Buckland: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 17 May 2019.The correct answer should have been:

In accordance with the sentence of the Court, Joseph McCann was released on 15 February 2019, after he had completed half (less time spent on remand) of a three-year determinate sentence for burglary imposed on 25 January 2018. On release, he was supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) When charged with that offence and remanded into custody on 21 August 2017, he was being supervised on licence by the NPS as part of the sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which he received on 26 September 2008. An offender on an IPP licence is not recalled automatically when he is charged with a further offence or offences. The probation officer will consider whether the alleged further offences, prior offending and the offender’s current behaviour show that his risk has escalated to the point where he needs to be recalled to protect the public. The decision on whether to recall an offender is to be based on a robust assessment of risk and to reflect the professional judgment of a trained probation officer. The NPS has undertaken an urgent review to establish why Mr McCann was not recalled to custody, either when remanded into custody on 21 August 2017 or when he was sentenced on 25 January 2018 15 February 2018. Mr McCann has now been charged with a number of very serious offences committed on or after 21 April this year. This has triggered a mandatory serious further offence (SFO) review, under the Probation SFO Review Procedures. The SFO review will consider in greater depth than has thus far been possible, including by interviewing relevant members of staff, the question of whether Mr McCann should have been recalled to custody when charged with and subsequently convicted of the burglary offence. Typically, an SFO review is completed within three months of an offender being charged with an SFO.

Robert Buckland: In accordance with the sentence of the Court, Joseph McCann was released on 15 February 2019, after he had completed half (less time spent on remand) of a three-year determinate sentence for burglary imposed on 25 January 2018. On release, he was supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) When charged with that offence and remanded into custody on 21 August 2017, he was being supervised on licence by the NPS as part of the sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which he received on 26 September 2008. An offender on an IPP licence is not recalled automatically when he is charged with a further offence or offences. The probation officer will consider whether the alleged further offences, prior offending and the offender’s current behaviour show that his risk has escalated to the point where he needs to be recalled to protect the public. The decision on whether to recall an offender is to be based on a robust assessment of risk and to reflect the professional judgment of a trained probation officer. The NPS has undertaken an urgent review to establish why Mr McCann was not recalled to custody, either when remanded into custody on 21 August 2017 or when he was sentenced on 25 January 2018 15 February 2018. Mr McCann has now been charged with a number of very serious offences committed on or after 21 April this year. This has triggered a mandatory serious further offence (SFO) review, under the Probation SFO Review Procedures. The SFO review will consider in greater depth than has thus far been possible, including by interviewing relevant members of staff, the question of whether Mr McCann should have been recalled to custody when charged with and subsequently convicted of the burglary offence. Typically, an SFO review is completed within three months of an offender being charged with an SFO.

Prisoners: Training

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a list of the courses provided for prisoners in each prison.

Robert Buckland: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Department for Education publishes data on prison education participation and completion rates and details on the academic years 2010/11 to 2017/18 can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/761349/201718_Nov_MAIN_OLASS_Particpation_FINALv1.xlsx

Legal Aid Scheme

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the accessibility of legal aid by claimants of universal credit.

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to legal aid by claimants of universal credit.

Paul Maynard: The Government passports all recipients of Universal Credit through the criminal legal aid means test as well as the income test applied under the civil legal aid scheme, and will continue to do so whilst the review of legal aid means testing is ongoing. The review, announced in the Government’s Legal Support Action Plan on 7 February 2019, is studying the thresholds for legal aid entitlement and will assess the effectiveness with which the means testing arrangements appropriately protect access to justice. The review will particularly focus on those who are vulnerable. The Legal Aid Agency regularly monitors access to legal aid-funded services by undertaking capacity reviews. A list of law firms offering legal aid, showing location and type of advice, each can provide, is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers.

Prisoners: Education

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) availability and (b) quality of education for adult prisoners.

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of former prisoners who (a) attended and (b) did not attend education programmes in prison reoffended after release in each of the last three years.

Robert Buckland: We set out our intentions to reform prison education in the Education and Employment Strategy, published in May last year. Our new education programme, designed to improve the quality of prison education and give prisoners a better chance of gaining employment on release, commenced on 1 April. Prison governors are responsible for education provision in their prisons. They control the education budget, decide the curriculum, and have helped to choose the main providers. In addition, our prison education Dynamic Purchasing System allows governors to commission specific, short-term education provision to meet specialised learning needs of individual prisoners, and to commission training to address employers’ particular requirements. This will help prisoners to take full advantage of employment opportunities on release. The new contracts, and increased local and national management of the education providers, will provide better and more immediate information on the quality of the service being delivered and provide a better mechanism for governors to manage performance. We do not hold data on re-offending outcomes in relation to education engagement in the form requested, and could not obtain it without incurring disproportionate cost.

Custodial Treatment: Location

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who started their custodial sentences in England and Wales in 2018 are in prisons which are over 30 miles from their previous address.

Robert Buckland: HMPPS is committed to ensuring, where practicable, that prisoners are accommodated as close as possible to their resettlement communities and families. Whilst this is a priority, it is not always possible due to a variety of factors including wider population pressures, or where individuals have specific sentence planning needs which can only be met at certain establishments. Closeness to home is particularly important for those on short sentences or nearing release, where they need to build family ties, secure housing and health services and look for work. These prisoners are prioritised for being held in prisons local to home. As at 31st March 2019, the number of sentenced prisoners who commenced their custodial sentence in 2018 and are located more than 30 miles from their origin location was 8,911. Around 97% of prisoners have an origin location, which is an address that is recorded in our central IT system. If no address is given, an offender’s committal court address, next-of-kin or discharge address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident. Those with no recorded origin are typically foreign nationals or those recently received into custody. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 3% of all offenders. These figures are excluded from the answer provided. For the purposes of this answer we have identified all prisoners that had commenced their custodial sentence in 2018. Prisoners held on remand, non-criminal prisoners and those that commenced their custodial sentence prior to 2018 (or since in 2019), have been excluded. Recalled prisoners that commenced their original sentence in 2018, and were released and subsequently recalled, and were held in custody on 31 March 2019 have been included. All data are based on the straight line travelling distance between each prisoners current location and their recorded origin location.

Prisoners' Release: Homelessness

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many individuals serving custodial sentences were released homeless in 2018.

Robert Buckland: It is vital that everyone leaving prison has somewhere safe and secure to live. Having somewhere stable to live acts as a platform for ex-offenders to be able to access the services and support needed to turn their back on crime for good. In 2017/18, 2,690 prisoners were released to rough sleeping and 8,139 were released to other forms of homelessness, together accounting for 15.8% of the total number of releases (68,632).  Published statistics for 2017/18 showing the accommodation status for offenders released during this period can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-performance-quarterly-mi-update-to-march-2018  Statistics covering 2018/19 will be published on 25 July 2019. As part of the Government initiative to reduce and ultimately eliminate rough sleeping across England, we are investing up to £6.4 million over two years in a pilot scheme to help ex-offenders into accommodation from three prisons, namely Bristol, Pentonville and Leeds. The pilots will focus on male prisoners who have served shorter sentences, who have been identified as having a risk of homelessness. Contracts have now been awarded in the three areas and, following a mobilisation period, we expect services to commence in Summer of this year. This is a concrete step in our commitment to tackling rough sleeping.

Courts: Location

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on finalising the location of the Problem Solving Courts across England and Wales.

Edward Argar: There are no plans to develop Problem Solving Courts in the criminal courts in England and Wales. Problem solving approaches are however being employed to address complex needs of offenders and resolve substance misuse/mental health problems in the community:We are working with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, HM Prisons and Probation Service and Public Health England on a protocol to support the greater use of community sentences with treatment requirements in courts. The Community Sentence Treatment Requirement protocol is operating across five courts within England (as health is devolved in Wales). These sites are Milton Keynes, Northampton, Birmingham, Sefton and Plymouth. The roll-out of NHS England’s Liaison and Diversion services also supports our efforts to intervene early for vulnerable offenders and divert them into services that address the underlying causes of offending. This service is currently operating across over 90% of England with full roll-out expected by 2020/21.Problem-solving courts and initiatives are in use in family proceedings where families can get help to address their problems and reduce the likelihood of children being taken into care. Family, Drug and Alcohol Courts, which look to address substance misuse and related problems in the home, are operating in a number of local authority areas including London, Southampton, Coventry and Leeds. Family, Drug and Alcohol Courts and a number of other initiatives which are helping to keep families safely together have recently been given additional £15m funding from the Department for Education.

Prison Officers: Mental Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to provide mental health support for prison officers.

Robert Buckland: HMPPS recognises the importance of staff wellbeing and offers a range of support that includes access to specialist Mental Health Advisers provided by our Occupational Health supplier.HMPPS offers further staff support through its Employee Assistance Programme which includes a 24hr/365 days per year confidential helpline and access to mental health support by way of confidential counselling together with a Structured Professional Support service which has been developed to provide individual or group sessions facilitated by Mental Health Advisers or Therapists. The aim of the sessions are to help to reduce the likelihood that staff will experience adverse effects as a result of working on programmes with offenders or on high risk cases.

Knives: Crime

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many recorded knife crime offences were disposed of with a conviction in each of the last five years.

Paul Maynard: This information is not collated centrally. We cannot determine from the data we hold on prosecutions whether offences, such as assault and murder, involved a weapon. However, data on offenders who are convicted or cautioned for the possession of a knife or threatening with a knife can be found online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the overall budget of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme was for covering the costs of acquiring medical evidence for applicants in each year since 2010.

Edward Argar: The information requested is not available. The Ministry of Justice does not provide the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority with a specific budget for the purpose of costs associated with acquiring medical evidence for applicants.

Department for International Trade

Free Trade: Jamaica

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to support free trade between the UK and Jamaica.

George Hollingbery: The UK signed the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Jamaica on 22 March 2019. This will provide continuity for businesses, exporters and consumers as the UK prepares to leave the EU. The UK is currently designing a package of funding to help businesses in Jamaica to take full advantage of the market access granted by the EPA.

Free Trade: Mali

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he has taken to promote free trade with Mali after the UK leaves the EU.

George Hollingbery: As the Prime Minister set out during her visit to Africa last Summer, the Government is committed to advancing our trade relationship with Africa. DIT has set up the Africa Trade Services Unit to act as the single point of contact for UK companies exporting to Africa. The Unit responds to all Africa trade enquiries, including those related to Mali to improve companies’ trading capabilities and promote trade. The Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act 2018 enables the UK to put in place a trade preferences scheme for developing countries that maintains duty-free, quota-free access to Least Developed Countries, including Mali.

Department for International Trade: Living Wage

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of organisations that hold contracts with his Department pay the National Living Wage.

George Hollingbery: Rates of pay for people working for third party contractors are determined by their respective employers and is not held centrally. All outsourced providers are required to pay as a minimum, either the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

5G

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to review planning requirements with regard to the rollout of 5G technology to ensure that safety concerns are taken into account.

Kit Malthouse: As announced by the Secretary of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 12 June, we will shortly be consulting on proposals to simplify planning processes in England to support the rollout of 5G and further improve mobile coverage in rural areas.Public Health England’s (PHE’s) Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards takes the lead on public health matters associated with radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, or radio waves, used in telecommunications. Central to PHE advice is that exposure to radio waves should comply with the guidelines published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). ICNIRP is formally recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO).While a small increase in overall exposure to radio waves is possible when 5G is added to the existing network, the overall exposure is expected to remain low and well within the ICNIRP guidelines.National planning policy sets out that applications for electronic communications equipment should be supported by a statement that self-certifies that when operational, ICNIRP guidelines will be met.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Living Wage

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of organisations that hold contracts with his Department pay the National Living Wage.

Jake Berry: Information on rates of pay for people working for the Department’s suppliers is not held centrally. This information could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.All suppliers are required to pay, as a minimum, either the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage.

Buildings: Insulation

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on what date his Department plans to write to building owners eligible for the aluminium composite material cladding fund.

Kit Malthouse: On 17 May 2019, we sent letters to all building owners eligible for the private sector remediation fund. We will continue to engage with building owners, managing agents, developers, local authorities and others to establish the fund.

Buildings: Insulation

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria his Department is using to determine whether building owners should be sent a letter regarding the aluminium composite material Cladding Fund.

Kit Malthouse: The fund will include all high-rise (over 18 metres) residential private sector buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding, except where a warranty claim has been accepted.

Buildings: Insulation

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timescale is for (a) the testing regime for non-aluminium composite material cladding to be completed and (b) publishing the results from the testing regime for non-aluminium composite material cladding.

Kit Malthouse: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the written ministerial statement HCWS1533 made on 1 May 2019.

Buildings: Insulation

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department plans to take in cases where building owners eligible for the aluminium composite material Cladding Fund do not apply within three months of being written to.

Kit Malthouse: We are engaging with all relevant building owners to encourage swift applications. We are backing local authorities to take enforcement action where building owners are refusing to remediate high-rise buildings with unsafe cladding, including by establishing a Joint Inspection Team to support local authorities and give them the confidence to pursue enforcement action.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Complaints

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate she has made of the number of recommendations in the (a) 2016, (b) 2017 and (c) 2018 Service Complaints Ombudsman's annual report have been complied with; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: In her annual reports for 2016 and 2017 the Service Complaints Ombudsman made a total of 22 recommendations. Of these recommendations, we consider that 15 have either been completed or were not accepted, and that seven remain in progress. In her annual report for 2018 which was published in April this year, the Ombudsman made nine new recommendations. We are currently in the process of considering these recommendations with the single Services and will respond formally to the Ombudsman once this work is complete.

Armed Forces: Radicalism

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) the RAF have been (i) investigated by and (ii) discharged from the services as a result of (A) membership of national action (B) membership of a far right organisation, (C) anti-Semitic organisations and (D) Islamophobic organisations; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Since April 2007 (when offences started to be recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration system), no members of the Royal Navy or Royal Air Force have been investigated or discharged from Service as a result of membership of the named organisations.During that time, less than five (this figure is rounded to avoid identification) members of the Army were investigated and discharged due to membership of National Action.Extremist ideologies are completely at odds with the values and standards of the military. We have robust measures in place, including during the recruitment process, to ensure those exhibiting extremist views are neither tolerated nor permitted to serve.We are working with the Home Office to implement the Prevent programme across the Armed Forces, including training personnel to ensure they are aware of what to do if they believe an individual is showing signs of radicalisation.

Saudi Arabia: Military Aid

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) nature and (b) purpose is of the Special Instructions Intelligence Networks workshops provided by his Department to the Saudi military.

Mark Lancaster: Special Instructions (SPINS) are mandatory instructions that all those operating in the air domain are required to comply with to undertake safe operations in designated areas.The SPINS workshop, which took place in January 2017, was designed to share ideas and experience between the UK and Saudi Arabia, and for the UK to gain an insight into RSAF procedures. It consisted of a series of briefings and interactive sessions.

Veterans: Finance

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of total spending on veterans' support services in each region of the UK in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of total spending on veterans' support services in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) the UK in each year since 2010.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Information for the regions is not held in the format requested. Once Armed Forces personnel have left the service, the provisions for their health and welfare support needs are primarily provided by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions alongside the NHS in England and the Devolved Regions. Additional welfare support is also provided by the third sector in the form of Service charities and benevolent organisations. Some welfare support is provided by the Department through its Veteran UK organisation.

Aged Veterans Fund

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much has been spent by the Aged Veterans Fund in each year since 2015.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding from the Aged Veterans Fund has been allocated to projects and groups in (a) South Yorkshire and (b) Barnsley in each year since 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The table below details the value of funds awarded in the two years the Aged Veterans Fund was open: Financial Year (FY)Value of Grants Awarded2015-16£6,608,0902016-17£22,792,661 The table below details the value of Aged Veterans Funds awarded to Yorkshire and Humberside since 2015. It is not possible to break down the information requested or establish whether the organisation receiving funding was in South Yorkshire or Barnsley without incurring disproportionate cost: Awarded toTitle of projectValue FY AwardedAge UK Support Services (Yorkshire and Humber)Mission possible: Active Service in Later Life£539,9802015-16Rural Action YorkshireVeterans Advance North Yorkshire – We’ve got your back£1,004,6642016-17

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment: Mental Health

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration has been given to providing employers with information and support on mental health in the workplace.

Justin Tomlinson: The DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Unit is overseeing progress across 40 recommendations that were made in Thriving at Work: The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers published in October 2017 these range from short term deliverables to longer term reform. Government is committed to working with the authors of the review and key stakeholders across the public, private and voluntary sectors to ensure that employers of all sizes act to implement the core and enhanced standards and help them, and their employees, realise the benefits of healthy, inclusive workplaces.One of the review’s recommendations was about transparency as a significant opportunity to encourage cultural change around mental health. We have worked with partners, including employers, to develop a framework to support organisations to record and voluntarily report information on disability and mental health in the workplace. This framework was published on 22nd November 2018 and is aimed at large employers with 250 or more employees. To improve information and advice for employers we are working with Mind and the Royal Foundation to continue developing their Mental Health at Work website (https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk) which launched on 11th September 2018.

Universal Credit

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons maternity allowance and statutory maternity pay are classified differently under the universal credit rules.

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the deduction of maternity allowance from universal credit as unearned income on the (a) affordability for new mothers of (i) housing costs, (ii) nappies and (iii) and other baby essentials and (b) children of those mothers in respect of the principle set out in section 1(1) of the Children Act 1989.

Will Quince: Universal Credit is a means tested system of support. Where claimants have income available to meet their everyday living costs, such as maternity allowance, it is right that their entitlement to UC is adjusted accordingly (as currently is the case with other DWP legacy means tested working age benefits).Statutory maternity pay is paid by an employer and is therefore a form of earnings subject to the work allowance and tapering within Universal Credit, as are other earnings.

Personal Independence Payment: Flintshire

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people living in Flintshire who previously received disability living allowance care component at the (a) lower, (b) middle and (c) higher rate received no personal independence payment daily living component after being invited to apply for that payment in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson: Table 1(a) below shows the level of Care component a Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimant in the Flintshire Local Authority area received prior to them being reassessed onto Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and being awarded Nil Daily Living. This data is split by calendar year from the first PIP reassessment clearances in 2014 to 31st October 2018, the latest date for which data is available. For additional context, Tables 1(b) and 1(c) show the level of DLA Care Component in the Flintshire Local Authority area received prior to being reassessed onto PIP and being awarded the Standard Daily Living component and the Enhanced Daily Living component respectively over the period 2014 – 31st October 2018. For reference, 2,760 claimants in Flintshire were given a PIP award on reassessment from DLA over this time period. Table 1(a): DLA Care Component Award for claimants who were awarded Nil PIP Daily Living1 at reassessment from DLA to PIP Year DLA Care Award Type201420152016201720182Total Highest1020303020120Middle2030607050240Lowest20409010040290Total50100180200110640Data includes PIP Reassessments that were awarded the PIP Daily Living component at the Nil rate – this includes claimants who were awarded PIP and thus were awarded either Standard or Enhanced mobility rate and those who were completely disallowed PIP and were awarded Nil Mobility.Table 1(b) DLA Care Component Award for claimants who were awarded the standard level of the PIP Daily Living Component at reassessment from DLA to PIP  Year DLA Care Award Type201420152016201720182Total Highest2030607060240Middle305011010060340Lowest608012013090470Total1001602903002101,050   Table 1(c) DLA Care Component Award for claimants who were awarded the  enhanced level of the PIP Daily Living Component at reassessment from DLA to PIP  Year DLA Care Award Type201420152016201720182Total Highest7080150140120570Middle509013012070460Lowest70100706040340Total1902703503202301,3702018 data to 31st October 2018. Source: PIP ADS, DLA Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study claimant data and Customer Information System data. Notes:Figures include reassessment outcomes for individuals who were aged between 16 and 64 on 8th April 2013, and include both PIP Normal Rules and Special Rules for the Terminally Ill claims.This data also includes DLA claimants who were invited to claim PIP and those who chose to claim PIP once their DLA award had ended.Figures are correct as at 31st October 2018.Data has been rounded to the nearest 10. Components may not sum to the whole due to rounding.This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.

Pensions and Social Security Benefits: Windrush Generation

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the volume of (a) benefits and (b) pensions incorrectly refused to Windrush generation claimants.

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the state pension entitlement for people who have been unable to make national insurance contributions because they could not prove their status despite being resident since 1973.

Alok Sharma: The Department does not hold this information and to produce it would incur disproportionate cost. DWP has helped over 400 Windrush generation claimants to resolve issues with benefit entitlement. DWP staff continue to support people of the Windrush generation with their benefits and pensions claims and are also working closely with other Government bodies to assist those who apply to the Home Office’s Windrush Compensation Scheme. This scheme will take into account loss of income, such as barriers to employment and/or access to benefits and pensions.

Pensions: Fees and Charges

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with the pensions sector on increasing transparency in respect of charge cap levels.

Guy Opperman: When the charge cap was introduced in 2015, DWP produced guidance for trustees on how to comply. Since this time DWP officials have met regularly with pension schemes and their service providers. As a result of this engagement DWP consulted earlier this year on an update to the charge cap guidance to provide more clarity for trustees on how to calculate charges.The consultation can be found in chapter 5 in the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/defined-contribution-pensions-investments-and-consolidationWe are currently considering the feedback.

Pensions: Fees and Charges

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of consumer understanding of pension product charge cap levels.

Guy Opperman: In February 2018 the DWP laid regulations to require trustees of occupational defined contribution schemes to publish their charges and costs annually online, and to tell members via their annual benefit statement where this information is available. There is no specific consumer survey but the charge cap holds charges down.

Universal Credit: Self-Employed

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the relationship between rent arrears and the roll out of universal credit for self-employed claimants.

Will Quince: We have not made an assessment of this nature, as any change in rent arrears is not solely attributed to Universal Credit. The initial analytical work we have carried out with a single housing provider suggests that many tenants are arriving on Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears, supporting by the research carried out by the National Federation of ALMOs which shows over three quarters of their tenants come onto Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears.This initial analytical work also shows that arrears tend to increase prior to making a claim for Universal Credit, and that Universal Credit actually appears to be helping to clear arrears over time. We are currently extending this analysis to include a number of housing providers. It will be published when completed.We have responded to concerns in this area by putting a number of safeguards in place – 100 per cent advances repayable over 12 months, increasing to 16 months in October 2021; a two-week Transition to Universal Credit Housing Payment; a new Help to Claim service; and Managed Payment to Landlord Arrangements, which allow for payments direct to the landlord if the tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their rent payments, is unlikely to pay their rent or is in rent arrears equivalent to two months.We are aware that for many who are self-employed, particularly those with seasonal businesses, earnings often fluctuate from month to month, and they need to budget and plan for this. Self-employed Universal Credit claimants are no different in this regard.

Post Office Card Account

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has paid into Post Office card accounts in each of the last five years.

Guy Opperman: The figures for the amount paid into Post Office card accounts for the last five financial years are as follows: Financial YearMonies Paid in by DWP2014-2015£17,333,287,535.112015-2016£16,228,823,143.882016-2017£14,141,533,797.782017-2018£12,047,638,556.852018-2019£9,515,393,806.89

Pensions

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with representatives from the pensions industry on (a) the divestment of pensions funds from carbon-intensive industries and fossil fuels and (b) incorporating climate-related risk into their investment decision-making.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the pension industry to (a) divest pension funds from carbon-intensive industries and fossil fuels and (b) adopt the recommendations of The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures in their reporting structures.

Guy Opperman: The Governments wants to support trustees in making responsible investment decisions. However, it does not seek to direct pension schemes to invest or divest in any particular way.We recognise that climate change is a key national and international issue and we have made sure that pension schemes understand their role responding to its effects. In September 2018, following extensive consultation with the pensions industry, this Government laid regulations to clarify that trustees should be taking account of the financial risks of climate change when developing their investment strategies. The regulations come into force from October this year. The FCA are consulting on corresponding provisions for workplace personal pension schemes. As the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion I have spoken extensively about the new requirements and the Government expectations of pension schemes, including at the Westminster Hall debate regarding Pension Funds: Financial and Ethical Investments on the 22 May 2019:“For too long there has been a perception by too many trustees -I am happy to clarify this as a Government Minister- that the environmental practices of the firms they invest in are purely ethical concerns, which they do not need to worry about: that is utterly wrong. Aside from the ethical considerations, there are real financial risks resulting from climate change. With the long-term horizons of pension investing, trustees must now consider that when they set out their investment strategies. Trustees who do not consider those matters will be breaching their statutory and potentially their fiduciary duties not only to current but future members.”The full debate can be viewed here:https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-05-22/debates/D3194408-7581-4635-AEDC-6D22AD6F0EBC/PensionFundsFinancialAndEthicalInvestments

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit: Dupuytren's Contracture

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to enable a claimant be able to make an application for industrial injuries disabled benefit for Dupuytren’s contracture.

Justin Tomlinson: The inclusion of Dupuytren’s Contracture in the list of prescribed diseases, for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit was announced in the Autumn Budget of 2018.Since the announcement, the Department has been working towards implementation and expects to bring forward legislation towards the latter end of 2019.

Poverty: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of child poverty (a) before and (b) after housing costs have been taken into account in each local authority in Wales in each year for which data is available.

Will Quince: National statistics on the number of people in relative and absolute low income are set out in the annual "Households Below Average Income" publication. The number and proportion of children in low income is not available at local authority or constituency level in this publication because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography.3-year estimates for the proportion of children in before and after housing cost low income in the Wales region are available using the link below, in the file “children-hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2017-18-tables.ods”.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/789816/hbai-2017-2018-tables-ods-files.zipTable 4.16ts shows child relative low income estimates and table 4.22ts shows child absolute low income estimates.

Poverty: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of housing costs on the level of child poverty; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: The Department looks at rates of child poverty both before and after housing costs. Absolute child poverty after housing costs has reduced from 28% in 2009/10 to 26% in 2017/18. However, this is higher than the absolute child poverty rate before housing costs which was 18% in 2017/18, suggesting that housing costs have an effect on rates of children in low income households.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women born in the 1950s and affected by the change of the state pension age received less than five years notice of that change.

Guy Opperman: The Pensions Acts of 1995, 2007 and 2011 were fully debated in Parliament. The government undertook wide public consultation before the passage of the Acts. This included publishing Green and White Papers. The passage of the Acts and the changes they brought in were widely reported in the media throughout this period. The changes to State Pension age that the Pensions Act 1995 brought in started to come into effect from April 2010 giving a notice period of at least 15 years for those changes. In addition, the DWP and others took extensive steps in the years following the 1995 Act to further communicate the changes to women born in the 1950s, as well as all others affected, by means such as leaflets, State Pension forecasts, media articles and personal letters.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Inland Waterways: Access

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on his Department's policies of the conclusion of the 2011 post-legislative scrutiny of the Scottish Land Reform Act 2003 that helped formalise and clarify access rights where previously there was informality and ambiguity; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a similar approach in relation to public access for recreation on inland waterways in England.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: There has been no assessment made by the Department and none is planned.

Inland Waterways: Access

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 30 May 2018 to Question 256982 on Canoeing: River Derwent, of 23 May 2019 to Question 254720 on Canoeing and of 15 April 2019 to Question 243346 on Canoeing, if his Department will make an assessment of whether its current policy of locally negotiated access arrangements is delivering adequate public access for recreation on English waters.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: No.

Air Pollution: Children

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2011 to Question HL14975, what the timeframe is for his Department to conclude its consideration of the UNICEF report entitled Healthy Air for Healthy Children; whether he plans to publish a response to that report; and what steps he is taking to ensure that personal air quality (a) monitors and (b) messaging systems will be made available to inform the public.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Department is aware of the Healthy Air for Healthy Children report. There are no plans to formally review the methodology and conclusions nor publish a response to the report. Through the Air Quality Grant more than £3 million of government funding has been awarded to 28 innovative projects to improve air quality across local authorities in England. This includes funding to trial new technology to test the effectiveness of low-cost sensors to better understand the air quality data they produce. Air Quality forecasts and information are already published on the Defra UKAIR website. We are undertaking further work to understand the range of different audiences for air quality information, the differing requirements of those audiences, and how air quality information needs to be tailored to meet those different audiences’ needs.

Diesel Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to introduce a nationwide diesel scrappage scheme; and what recent  assessment he has made of the potential effect on air quality resulting from the introduction of any such scheme.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: No, the previous national car scrappage scheme was undertaken to support the car industry and for any nationwide scrappage schemes there are concerns over deliverability and value for money. However, we have not restricted the types of measures eligible local authorities could bid for funding for from the Clean Air Fund.

Plastics: Rivers

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the level of plastic particles in rivers.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has a target to reduce the level of plastic particles in rivers.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government has set a target to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within the lifetime of the 25 year Environment Plan (by 2042) and set aside £20 million for research and development managed through the Plastics Innovation Fund in March 2018. A further £10 million was committed in the 2018 Autumn Budget for continued/additional plastics research and development along with £10 million to pioneer innovative approaches to boosting recycling and reducing litter. There has been substantive research reporting the presence and impacts of microplastics in the marine environment. However, little is known about their sources, release and impact on freshwaters and their transport to the marine environment. Defra has therefore commissioned evidence reviews to increase our understanding of these issues. Defra is also working with the Environment Agency and the UK water industry to establish methods to detect, characterise and quantify microplastics entering wastewater treatment works, to evaluate the efficiency of treatment processes for their removal from domestic wastewaters and to assess their fate and biological effects in receiving rivers. In addition, Defra has commissioned the University of Plymouth to carry out research into textiles and tyres which are estimated to be significant sources of microplastics in the marine environment, and the Drinking Water Inspectorate has commissioned research on removal of microplastics by drinking water treatment processes. The outcomes from these research projects will be used in the development of policy options to help mitigate the impact of microplastics in the aquatic environment.

Salmon: Fish Farming

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Environment Agency will take to ensure the control of water borne disease and infestations within farmed salmon populations.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) is the organisation responsible for the control of serious diseases of fish and shellfish in aquaculture establishments, including salmon farms and wild populations in England and Wales. It acts under the Aquatic Animal Health (England and Wales) Regulations 2009 to prevent the introduction and spread of serious fish and shellfish disease. The FHI undertakes its responsibilities through compliance inspections of aquaculture establishments and advice to the industry. It also imposes trade controls on imports of fish and shellfish, investigates disease problems and when a serious disease is detected, implementations of movement controls and other preventative measures.

Wrasse: Cornwall

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) safeguard the Cornish Wrasse population and (b) better manage the removal of those fish to Scottish salmon farms.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The management of the Cornish wrasse fishery is the responsibility of the Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA). The Live Wrasse Fishing (Limited Permit) Byelaw 2018 safeguards the removal of wrasse by requiring vessel owners to hold an annual permit for their vessel to be used for taking, retaining or landing live wrasse. A maximum of five permits can be issued by the Cornwall IFCA in a calendar year and permit holders must comply with specific conditions to ensure proper use and maintain the sustainability of stock.

Bees: Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect (a) solitary bees, (b) honey bees and (c) bumblebees.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Protecting pollinators is a priority for this Government. They are an essential part of our environment and play a crucial role in food production. The National Pollinator Strategy is a 10 year plan setting out how Government, conservation groups, farmers, beekeepers and researchers can work together to improve the status of the 1,500 or so pollinating insect species in England. Alongside these partners, the Government is taking action to create and manage wildlife-rich habitat, raise awareness, improve bee health and strengthen the evidence base. Each of these actions will benefit solitary bees, honey bees and bumblebees. More specifically, for solitary bees, we have set out advice on how to manage and provide appropriate habitat to everyone with a garden, window box or access to shared land on the ‘Bees’ Needs’ website at www.bees-needs.org.uk. For honey bees, Defra maintains an extensive programme of advisory visits and events for beekeepers on pest and disease management and good husbandry. Around 6,000 inspections are carried out each year in England and Wales, through which advice on good husbandry is provided to thousands of beekeepers to help them manage important pests like varroa. We are also tackling threats from invasive non-native species such as the Asian hornet. For bumblebees, Natural England works in partnership to support the recovery of threatened species. For example, on the Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s project to reintroduce the short-haired bumblebee in Dungeness, alongside the RSPB and over 100 farmers and land owners, which has been so successful in creating extensive, quality habitat that other rare species have started to spread to areas where they have not been recorded for up to 40 years. Furthermore, both bumblebees and honey bees imported from another country must be accompanied by a health certificate which provides guarantees about the health status of the country and the consignment of bees.

Agriculture: Biotechnology

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of cellular agriculture on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Cellular agriculture has the potential to transform how we produce some foods. Advances in science may allow us to create traditional animal products away from traditional farm settings, from gelatine and egg whites to milk and even meat. Such methods of production also have the potential to reduce climate emissions, especially when harnessing renewable energy supplies. Whilst Defra has not yet assessed the potential of this technology on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, through the £90 million Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Transforming Food Production challenge we will focus on innovation and research around agriculture, productivity and sustainability.The environmental impacts of food are complex and span the whole supply chain. Defra undertakes and coordinates research across the whole food system to enhance productivity, enhance food quality, increase efficiency, and reduce waste, from primary production through to manufacturing, retail, distribution and the consumer.The Government is committed to publishing a National Food Strategy when we leave the European Union. This will help ensure that our food system delivers healthy and affordable food for all people, and is built upon a resilient and sustainable agriculture sector which considers its climate impact.

Pets: Sales

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if will bring forward legislative proposals on animal re-homing before the ban on the third party selling of puppies and kittens comes into effect in April 2020.

David Rutley: Legitimate rescue homes do incredible work rescuing and rehoming thousands of sick, abandoned and stray animals each year. I recognise that with the ban on commercial third party sales coming into force, stakeholders are concerned that disreputable dealers could reinvent themselves as rescues. We are actively exploring these issues with the rescue and rehoming sector. We need to be confident of the benefits and the impacts of any regulations placed on rescue and rehoming centres, particularly on some of the smaller rescues. We will consider proposals once we have fully consulted with the sector and understood the impact of any proposals. In the meantime, in order to prevent third-party sellers from presenting themselves as rehoming centres, we will work with the Canine and Feline Sector Group and local authorities to develop specific guidance to help distinguish between non-commercial rescue and rehoming centres, which are charities, and pet sellers which are businesses.

Home Office

Home Office: Post Office

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department's contract with Post Office Ltd for check and send services is due to expire; and whether he has plans to extend that contract.

Caroline Nokes: The current Call Off Agreement (contract) between the Home Office and Post Office Ltd will expire on 31 August 2022. There are no contractual options to extend this Agreement further, as these have already been exercised.

Home Office: Post Office

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's contract with Post Office Ltd for Check and Send services in (a) each year since its inception and (b) the next five years.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not pay Post Office Ltd (POL) for providing either of the passport Check & Send services. The handling charges by POL to passport customers applying under both the digital and paper Check & Send services cover their costs of providing these services, and for the onward secure transmission of applications to Her Majesty’s Passport Office. This has been the case since the original service was introduced in 1996, and will continue to be the arrangement until the current Agreement ends on 31 August 2022.

Overseas Students: English Language

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of whether test centres have submitted the same voice recording clips for all students even when the Toeic English language test was taken in test conditions; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: The criminal investigations into the fraud carried out by the Home Office uncovered evidence of the use of proxy test takers, the type of fraud also shown in the Panorama documentary. Whilst there have been suggestions of other methods of fraud, no material evidence has been uncovered during the course of the criminal investigation to support these scenarios.Furthermore at the time the Home Office commissioned an independent expert from the respected firm Kroll Ontrack to consider this issue. They found no evidence in the information made available to them to suggest the substitution of recordings in this way.

Rape: Criminal Proceedings

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reported instances of rape led to a criminal charge in each year since 2010.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what percentage of reported instances of rape led to a criminal charge in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: Information on the number and percentage of recorded crimes, including rapes, that led to a charge can be found in the Outcomes open data tables, which can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Ebola

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which (a) countries and (b) regions of those countries have Ebola outbreaks; and what support his Department is providing to (i) tackle and (ii) prevent the spread of that disease.

Harriett Baldwin: An Ebola outbreak was declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, on August 1, 2018. The UK has been a major contributor to the response from the very beginning, providing both financial and technical support to tackle the disease and prevent its spread. Our funding to the WHO, other UN partners and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) is supporting infection prevention and control, safe and dignified burials, community engagement and accountability, psychosocial support - particularly to survivors, and broader health systems strengthening. The UK is also the leading donor for regional preparedness to prevent the spread of the disease to neighbouring countries Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. This UK support has helped to improve leadership and co-ordination, surveillance, infection prevention control and preparedness measures.

Africa: Malaria

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to help tackle counterfeit anti-malaria medication in Africa.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK Government takes the issue of substandard and falsified medicines seriously and is committed to tackling malaria. Through DFID and the Department of Health and Social Care, we fund the WHO Global Surveillance and Monitoring System, which helps countries to identify and report substandard and falsified products, including anti-malaria medication in Africa. DFID also funds the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which is committed to responsible and sustainable procurement and investigates any reported cases of substandard and falsified medicines through its Office of the Inspector General. We support countries to strengthen their health systems and work closely with partners to raise awareness on good distribution practices to minimise the risk of these medicines entering the supply chain. Our support to Product Development Partnerships for research and development for new products also includes anti-counterfeiting measures to reduce the risk of substandard and falsified medicines entering the supply chain, for example using labels or packaging that are difficult to copy.

Church Commissioners

Church of England: Scotland

Deidre Brock: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what the Church of England's landholdings are in Scotland.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The Church Commissioners have indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Church of England: Scotland

Deidre Brock: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what estimate the Church of England has made of the profits from its operations in Scotland in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The Church Commissioners have indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Church of England: EU Grants and Loans

Deidre Brock: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what EU funding the Church of England has received in each of the last ten years.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The Church Commissioners have indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Procurement

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department takes across Government to calculate social value in the award of central government contracts.

Oliver Dowden: We have developed a light touch model for calculating social value in government procurement, representing the minimum standard on social value that we expect departments to consider in their procurement activity. The model comprises a set of high level themes, a set of priority policy outcomes grouped under each theme, standard award criteria and a menu of specific metrics for departments to use in contract management and reporting. Each policy outcome will have standard award criteria and a suggested set of evaluation questions for departments to consider, and a corresponding set of proposed metrics that should be used by departments to performance manage the delivery of the contract. Bidders will need to submit questions based on these metrics where they have been selected. In March 2019, we launched a public consultation on the final measures that will form part of the overall social value framework. The consultation will encompass the proposed questions and reporting metrics that will be used to compare the relative social value of bids for central government contracts. The consultation closes on 10 June 2019. We are also developing proposals for government’s biggest suppliers to provide data and action plans for how they plan to address key issue such as ethnic minority representation in their workforce, the gender pay gap throughout the company and what they are doing to tackle the scourge of modern slavery.

Marriage: Children and Young People

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people below 18 years of age who are married.

Kevin Foster: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 93.72 KB)

Treasury

Health Insurance: Insurance Premium Tax

Craig Tracey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the rate of Insurance Premium Tax on the sustainability of the health insurance market.

Craig Tracey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the size of the health insurance market on the NHS.

John Glen: The government publishes assessments of all tax changes at fiscal events. This includes examining the economic and business impacts. The assessment for the last change in Insurance Premium Tax (announced at Autumn Statement 2016) can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/insurance-premium-tax-increase-of-standard-rate/insurance-premium-tax-increase-of-standard-rate These costings are certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility. The government keeps all taxes under review and remains in regular discussion with the insurance industry and other interested parties, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), on the provision of insurance in the UK. The government does not have a view on the impact of the size of the health insurance market on the NHS.

Revenue and Customs: Payments

Marion Fellows: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason his Department stopped people from being able to make payments to HMRC at post office branches.

Jesse Norman: The facility to pay HMRC at the Post Office was withdrawn by the service provider, Santander, on 14 December 2017. HMRC were not the only users of this service and had no influence on this decision or the timing of the withdrawal.

Revenue and Customs: Payments

Marion Fellows: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money was paid by people to HMRC at post office branches in each of the last five years.

Jesse Norman: The table below shows the volume and values of payments made by customers at the Post Office to HMRC for each of the last five tax years (6 April – 5 April). 2018-19 shows as zero because the facility to pay HMRC at the Post Office was withdrawn by the service provider, Santander, on 14 December 2017. Girobank / Transcash payments into HMRCTax YearVolumeValue2014/152,220,883£1,681,412,410.522015/161,598,644£976,929,804.142016/17936,457£774,197,939.972017/18432,596£373,502,157.542018/190£0.00

Cash Dispensing: Wolverhampton North East

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many free to use ATMs are  located in Wolverhampton North East Constituency; and how many free to use ATMs there were in that constituency in (a) 2010 and (b) 2015.

John Glen: The Government does not hold this information. Information on ATM numbers by Parliamentary Constituency for recent periods is publicly available on the LINK website. Data on the total stock of ATMs in the UK and how this has changed each year since 1998 – including the split between free-to-use and pay-to-use ATMs – is also available online. Furthermore, LINK publish monthly data on their Financial Inclusion Programme, and the numbers of free-to-use ATMs 1 kilometre or further from the next nearest free-to-use ATM. The Government-established Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) continues to monitor developments in ATM provision, and has used its powers to hold LINK to account over its commitments to preserve the broad geographic spread of the ATM network.

Married People: Tax Allowances

Andrew Selous: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help couples claim the marriage allowance.

Jesse Norman: Marriage Allowance was introduced in April 2015 to recognise the importance of marriage and civil partnerships in the tax system, and support those on low incomes by helping them keep more of the money they earn. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) ran a number of advertising campaigns to encourage eligible couples to apply for Marriage Allowance. HMRC continues to raise awareness through ongoing communication on social media and on GOV.UK. Marriage Allowance can be claimed through the Personal Tax Account on gov.uk or by phone to HMRC. Once the claim for the current year is processed, there is no need to reapply every year because it remains in individuals’ tax code until they tell HMRC that their circumstances have changed or they become a higher rate taxpayer.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Mermaids UK

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the charitable status of Mermaids UK will be reviewed.

Mims Davies: In England and Wales, an organisation is a charity if it meets a number of legal tests; namely that it is established for exclusively charitable purposes for the public benefit and that it falls within the jurisdiction of the High Court regarding charities. The charitable status of an organisation is a matter of law and the Charity Commission cannot remove the charitable status of a charity if it meets the legal test. There are no plans to review the charitable status of Mermaids UK.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Living Wage

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of organisations that hold contracts with his Department pay the National Living Wage.

Margot James: We do not hold the information requested centrally. However DCMS standard terms and conditions ensures that the supplier shall comply with all applicable laws in supplying services to the department.

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the extent of coverage of the (a) national and (b) local DAB network as at 1 January 2019.

Margot James: Information about the coverage of national and local DAB networks is compiled by Ofcom. The most recent figures Ofcom are able to provide are from the 2018 Media Nations report published in July 2018.   Commercial BBC UK wideDigital One – national multiplexSound Digital - national multiplexAggregate of local DAB multiplexesHomes97.4%91.7%77.0%91.0%Major roads87.4%80.2%66.9%75.2%